The 2008 Karbala bombing occurred on March 17, 2008 in Karbala

Karbala

Karbala is a city in Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 572,300 people ....

, Iraq.

Background

Karbala is a city in central Iraq, 80 km (49.7 mi) south of Baghdad. It is home to the Imam Husayn Shrine

Imam Husayn Shrine

The Shrine of Husayn ibn ‘Alī is one of the oldest mosques on Earth and a holy site of Shīah Islām in the city of Karbalā, Iraq. It stands on the site of the grave of Husayn ibn ‘Alī, the second grandson of Muhammad, near the place where he was killed during the Battle of Karbalā in 680 C.E....

, one of the holiest sites of Shiite Islam. The city had seen several other suicide bombs in the past, including one in April 2007 that killed roughly 100 people.

There were two other insurgent attacks the day of the bombing, including a mortar attack and several suicide bombs, both in Baghdad. The attacks came during a visit by US Vice President Dick Cheney

Dick Cheney

Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....

.

Details

The suicide bomb detonated outside a cafe near the shrine. Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...

is suspected to be behind the bombings, though this is not proven. Mohammed Kadhem, 39, a witness to the bombings claimed that he "saw smoke and bodies." The bomber was confirmed to be female though few other details were given.

Victims

The bombings killed at least 42 people and injured 58. The dead include seven Iranians.