WORLD NEWS

KARBALA: A mortar bomb killed at least 27 people and wounded dozens on Friday three kilometres (two miles) east of the central Iraqi shrine city of Karbala, governor Amalheddin al-Hir said.

"A mortar round was launched from fields northeast of the city," he said.

"Twenty-seven people were killed and 56 wounded. I accuse Al-Qaeda who are being supported by the Baath party," Hir added, referring to the outlawed political movement of executed dictator Saddam Hussein.

Police Major Alaa Abbas earlier said that the mortar round struck Shiite pilgrims leaving the city after attending a major mourning ceremony.

More than one million pilgrims thronged Karbala, 110 kilometres south of Baghdad, for the climax of Arbaeen, with thousands of security forces on high alert for suicide attacks.

Arbaeen marks 40 days after the Ashura anniversary commemorating the slaying of Imam Hussein, one of Shiite Islam's most revered figures, by the armies of the Sunni caliph Yazid in 680 AD.