[Excerpt: In Najaf, a suicide car bomber plowed his vehicle into a funeral procession and exploded it just yards from the city's Imam Ali shrine, killing at least 30 people, the head of Iraqi security operations said....The security chief said the death toll could easily rise. Witnesses said the bombing aftermath was in utter chaos.] _http://64.236.16.116/2004/WORLD/meast/12/19/iraq.main/index.html_ (http://64.236.16.116/2004/WORLD/meast/12/19/iraq.main/index.html) Bombs in Karbala, Najaf kill at least 40 10 Iraqi employees of U.S. company held hostage Sunday, December 19, 2004 Posted: 9:39 AM EST (1439 GMT)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Deadly car bombings on Sunday hit the Iraqi Shiite Muslim holy cities of Karbala and Najaf, killing at least 40 people, officials said. In Najaf, a suicide car bomber plowed his vehicle into a funeral procession and exploded it just yards from the city's Imam Ali shrine, killing at least 30 people, the head of Iraqi security operations said. The security chief said the death toll could easily rise. Witnesses said the bombing aftermath was in utter chaos. The Karbala attack killed 10 people and wounded 37, authorities said. It took place near the Bab Baghdad bus station, police said. Hospital sources confirmed the casualty figures. The blasts came just four days after seven people died in a bombing attack near Karbala's Imam Hussein mosque. Wednesday was the first day of campaigning for the January 30 election. (Full story) Also on Sunday, gunmen fired on a vehicle, killing three people on Baghdad's Haifa Street, police said. An Independent Electoral Commission source said the victims were election workers. A series of photographs from The Associated Press showed the election workers being dragged from their car. At least one was forced to kneel, and all were shot. A fourth person was killed on the street in a separate shooting overnight, police said. Insurgent attacks in Iraq have prompted calls from many Iraqis to delay the elections. Iraq's interim government and the United States appear determined to leave the date unchanged. Ten kidnapped Kidnappers have taken hostage 10 Iraqi employees for the Washington-based Saudi group, a security source in Baghdad said Sunday. The Associated Press Television News released video showing four masked and armed militants holding 10 men hostage. Insurgents said they would kill the hostages if the company doesn't leave Iraq, AP reported. The Sandi Group provides security, transportation, lodging and translation services in Iraq. A company official in Baghdad said it is looking into the report. Voter registration site attacked Sunday's attack on the election workers came a day after a mortar attack on an Iraqi voter registration site north of Baghdad. The attack killed an Iraqi civilian and wounded eight others, a U.S. Army spokesman said. Four mortar rounds slammed into the site -- which was in a youth center in Dujay, a town between the north-central cities of Tikrit and Samarra, said the spokesman with the Army's 1st Infantry Division. There has been concern about the ability to hold elections in parts of the Sunni Muslim heartland, where insurgent attacks have been significant. On January 30, Iraqi voters are expected to choose a 275-member transitional national assembly. That body will put together a permanent constitution that will go before voters in a referendum. If the law is approved, there will be elections for a permanent government by the end of next year. Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has announced he will vie for an assembly seat. Other developments # An investigative hearing has been held for two prominent members of Saddam Hussein's deposed regime: Ali Hassan al-Majid -- also known as "Chemical Ali" for his alleged role in the gassing of Kurds in the late '80s -- and Sultan Hashem Ahmed, Saddam's former defense minister, an investigative magistrate said Saturday. Raad al-Juhyi, head of a panel of investigative judges, said the hearing was not part of upcoming trials for the former regime that were announced this week. (Full story) # In a raid Saturday in western Samarra, American soldiers detained three people and confiscated bomb-making materials, binoculars and a bag of black powder, the U.S. military said. Soldiers detained four people in another raid Saturday near Ad Dwar. CNN's Karl Penhaul, Cal Perry, Kianne Sadeq, Nermeen al-Mufti, Kevin Flower and Stephanie Halasz contributed to this report. 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