<p>A local resident said he feared the attacks were another attempt by Sunni insurgents to ignite sectarian violence in the country. Government officials said a total of four explosions struck the city of Karbala around 10 am in a steady drumbeat over a five-minute period, meaning they likely were coordinated.<br /><br />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 city's gold-domed shrine to Imam Abbas. Two local police and hospital officials put the death toll at 11.<br /><br />They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to release the information. The number of wounded people ranged from 40 to as high as 90.<br />Conflicting casualty tolls are common in the confusion that immediately follows large attacks in Iraq.<br /><br />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 city's Shiites are already simmering over the deaths of 22 pilgrims in a bus hijacking two weeks ago in the Sunni-dominated Anbar province.</p>
<p>A local resident said he feared the attacks were another attempt by Sunni insurgents to ignite sectarian violence in the country. Government officials said a total of four explosions struck the city of Karbala around 10 am in a steady drumbeat over a five-minute period, meaning they likely were coordinated.<br /><br />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 city's gold-domed shrine to Imam Abbas. Two local police and hospital officials put the death toll at 11.<br /><br />They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to release the information. The number of wounded people ranged from 40 to as high as 90.<br />Conflicting casualty tolls are common in the confusion that immediately follows large attacks in Iraq.<br /><br />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 city's Shiites are already simmering over the deaths of 22 pilgrims in a bus hijacking two weeks ago in the Sunni-dominated Anbar province.</p>