BAGHDAD -- More than a dozen people were killed Sunday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala when four successive explosions struck outside a passport office. Local officials said 15 people were killed and more than 80 wounded. The figures could rise as rescue workers sift through the wreckage and as the local hospital continues to receive the...
A bomb hidden under a parked car killed at least two Shiite Muslim pilgrims on Friday and wounded four as they made their way to a religious festival in the holy city of Karbala. The bomb exploded in a parking lot about 14 miles from the city. WORLD BRIEFING | MIDDLE EAST...
BAGHDAD -- Two car bombs aimed at Iranian pilgrims exploded near two of the holiest shrines for Shiite Muslims in Iraq on Monday, as Iraqi leaders met in an inconclusive effort to resolve their country's long political deadlock. The attacks, in the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, killed at least 16 people and wounded more than 50 others....
Karbala (ofte også kaldet Kerbala) er en irakisk by beliggende ca. 100 km sydvest for Bagdad.
Byens anslåede befolkningsstørrelse var i 2003 572.300 indbyggere. For shiamuslimer er byen den tredje helligste kun overgået af Mekka og Medina.
Her er Imam Hussein og Abbas den Store (halvbror) begravet. De er altså Profeten Muhammeds børnebørn. Mange muslimer besøger dem, mest Shiiterne fordi det er deres Imam.
Karbala er historisk kendt for Slaget ved Karbala, en blodlig kamp mellem Imam Hussein og Kaliffen Yazid 1.s tropper, som i år 680 brutalt myrdede Imam Hussein og 71 andre af hans folk, deriblandt Imam Husseins 6 måneder gammel søn Ali Asghar. Årsagen for begivenheden, var at Yazid ville have Imam Husseins anerkendelse som Kalif, som Imam Hussein koldt afviste det. Stridighederne startede i det hele taget fra d. 7 Muharram på den Islamiske kalender, hvor Yazids tropper lukkede adgang til floden Eufrat, hvor folket plejede og kom for at hente vand. Den 10 Muharram blev slaget udkæmpet. Hvert år mindes Shiiterne begivenhed, som også kaldes "Ashura" over hele verden. Fold ud