Mortar blasts rock Baghdad
A series of mortar blasts shook parts of Baghdad tonight.
The five explosions were heard in quick succession after sunset. The US military said three to four mortars were fired from southwestern Baghdad.
One struck a camp of the 2nd Armoured Cavalry Regiment but caused no injuries, a statement said.
Two others struck in central Baghdad, the statement added without giving a location.
It said there was no damage to buildings of the US-led occupation.
Meanwhile a blast near a holy Shiite Muslim shrine in the city of Karbala killed at least one person and injured 12, including two in serious condition, witnesses said.
The Karbala blast occurred on a busy street shortly after sunset less than 100 yards from the gold-domed Imam Hussein shrine in the city, about 65 miles south of Baghdad, according to Mohammed Abu Jaffar al-Assadi, a Shiite cleric who arrived at the scene minutes after the blast.
All the dead and injured apparently were passers-by. There were conflicting reports on the cause of the blast.
Al-Assadi said a bomb had apparently been planted in a parked car, but other witnesses said it might have been concealed in a bag left outside a hotel.
The blast damaged several cars and caused damage to shops and buildings in the immediate vicinity, according to the witnesses.
It was not immediately possible to get confirmation of the report from Iraqi police or the US-led coalition.
Karbala was rocked by deadly clashes last month between supporters of rival Shiite factions. Also in October, supporters of a little-known Shiite cleric based in Karbala killed three US soldiers in a rare clash between residents of the holy city and the US military.
