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Summary A series of blasts hit a holy city in Iraq on Sunday, killing 10 people and wounding scores others.
A local resident said he feared the attacks were another attempt by insurgents to ignite sectarian violence in the country.Government officials said a total of four explosions struck the city of Karbala around 10 a.m. in a steady drumbeat over a five-minute period, meaning they likely were coordinated.Two government officials from Karbala provincial councilman Hussein Shadhan al-Aboudi and parliamentarian Jawad Kadim al-Hassnawi said 10 people died in the blasts. The attacks were launched near an office that issues ID cards to Iraqi citizens and also about a half-mile from the citys gold-domed shrine to Imam Abbas.Two local police and hospital officials put the death toll at 11. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.The number of wounded people ranged from 40 to as high as 90.Raed al-Assali, a government employee in Karbala Investment Council said he feared the attacks were another strike by insurgents hoping to spark sectarian violence at a time when the citys Shiites are already simmering over the deaths of 22 pilgrims in a bus hijacking two weeks ago in Anbar province.I rushed to rooftop of our building and I saw thick smoke rising from the blast area, said al-Assali, who was sitting in his office doing paperwork when he heard the booms. Some people in panic were running in the nearby alleys in order to escape fire and danger.
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