KARBALA, Iraq, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- An orchestrated series of four bombings in the Iraqi city of Karbala killed at least 15 people and injured 100 others, provincial officials said Sunday.
The first car bomb exploded outside a government building where people were lined up before offices opened, The New York Times reported.
Minutes later as emergency personnel arrived, a second car bomb went off followed by two smaller bombs, the report said.
Tariq al-Khaikani, a member of Karbala's provincial council, told the Times the site and delayed detonations were hallmarks of al-Qaida terrorists.
"The perpetrators attempt to target the most crowded places in order to kill as many as possible," he said.
Regardless, no group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings.
Karbala, which is south of Baghdad, is considered a sacred place among the sect of Shiite Muslims and has repeatedly been targeted by Sunni Muslim extremists. Al-Qaida is predominantly composed of Sunni Muslims, international intelligence records indicate.
Earlier this month, 22 Shiite religious pilgrims in a bus were gunned down in the western, Sunni-dominated province of Anbar as they headed to Karbala, the Times reported.
