Hezbollah condemns deadly Karbala blast

Lebanese Hezbollah Movement has strongly condemned the recent bomb attack in Iraq’s southern city of Karbala which killed dozen of pilgrims and wounded many others.

“The incident is yet another act of violence intended to provoke internal strife and cause massive bloodshed in Iraq. Such heinous moves are part of conspiracies that have been organized to extend US occupation in the country and serve hegemonic interests at large,” according to a statement released by the movement on Thursday.

The statement, meanwhile, called on Iraqi nationals to firmly stand united and thwart terror plots.

A bomb planted on a parked motorcycle exploded Wednesday on the outskirts of the holy city of Karbala, killing at least 23 Shia pilgrims and wounding more than 147 others amid tight security for the huge religious procession on Friday.

The bomb exploded at about 11 a.m. (0800 GMT) in an area known as Ibrahimia, near the east entrance into Karbala, about 80 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad.

The bombing was the second deadly attack on Shia pilgrims in three days. On Monday, at least 41 people were killed in northeast Baghdad when a was detonated in a crowd of devout Shias heading to Karbala.

They were among hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, who were walking to Karbala this week to commemorate the 7th century slaying of Imam Hossein (PBUH), a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

For the commemoration, the pilgrims converge on the city, where Imam Hossein (PBUH) is buried, to mark the 40th day of mourning after the anniversary of his death.