Thursday, July 6 2006 12:50 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Baghdad: A car bomb targeting Iranian pilgrims struck near a Shiite shrine in the holy city of Kufa today (July 6, 2006), killing at least 12 people and wounding 37, a local official and police said.

The bomb exploded about 7:15 a.m. near the shrine of Maitham al-Tamar and 500 metres from the Kufa mosque.

Local government official Iyad Abu Kulal said four people were killed and 15 were wounded, but he expected the death toll to rise.

Police Capt. Salim Ghanim said later that 12 people were killed and 37 wounded, including several Iranian pilgrims visiting the holy area.

Kufa and its twin city Najaf, 160 kilometres south of Baghdad, are in a relatively peaceful area of Iraq, but pilgrims traveling to holy sites have been targeted. A mortar barrage hit the Kufa mosque in August 2004, killing 27 people and wounding 63.

Attacks on houses of worship have stoked tensions between Shiite and Sunni Muslims, especially after the February 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra, an act that triggered reprisal attacks against Sunni mosques and clerics.