48 killed in Iraq car bombing

KARBALA - At least 48 people were killed and 16 injured in a car bombing on a crowded street near a mosque in the central Iraqi city of Karbala, police said.

The bomb exploded on Bab-Toueiraj street near the Imam Abbas mosque in Karbala, about 118 km south of Baghdad, police sources said.

Police imposed a curfew across the Shiite holy city.

Tightened security measures are taken throughout the year in the same area of Karbala to prevent attacks near the Imam Hussein shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam and a key pilgrimage site.