Toll in Iraq attack downgraded to seven (Second Lead)

KARBALA - The death toll in a car bombing in the holy Shiite Iraqi city of Karbala was only seven, medical sources said Monday - contradicting an earlier police toll of 48.

The seven dead were Iranian pilgrims. Another 45 people were injured including 20 Iranian pilgrims.

Police sources earlier said that 48 people were killed and 16 injured in the bombing that took place on the crowded Bab-Toueiraj street near the Imam Abbas mosque in central Karbala, about 118 km south of Baghdad.

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 Shitte Islam and a key pilgrimage site.