Updated at 6:18 p.m. EDT, July 25, 2010
Despite extra precautions, belligerents detonated a car bomb in Karbala. A separate car bomb destroyed the al-Arabiya studios and a lawmaker’s home in Baghdad. At least 46 Iraqis were killed and 88 more were wounded in those two attacks. Curiously, no other attacks in Iraq were reported. Meanwhile, members of the Iraqiya party refuse to allow the political impasse preventing the formation of the next government to become "internationalized."
Twin bombs at the southern entrance to Karbala left 40 dead and 68 wounded. About 30,000 security personnel were deployed to the holy city to protect Shi’ite pilgrims traveling there for al-Ziyara al-Shaabaniya observances.
In Baghdad, six people were killed and 20 were wounded during a car bomb attack that targeted the Dubai-based al-Arabiya news channel. The attack comes a day after journalists returned to the studios after having fled the station thanks to earlier terror threats. Among the wounded is M.P. Salam al-Zobaee of the Iraqiya Alliance, whose home is near the studio in Harithiya. The building was heavily damaged, and Zobaee was trapped under rubble of his home. Major General Qassim Atta accused checkpoint guards, who allowed the passage of the vehicle into the sector, of collusion. A 28-year-old was identified as the driver.
The station and other news organizations have been threatened by al-Qaeda in recent weeks. But the terrorist group isn’t the only peril threatening journalists in Iraq. Recently, the government created a special court that many believe will hamper free speech.
In Turkey, gunmen attacked a police, killing four officers. Six Turkish soldiers were wounded in a blast while combing the area for Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels. Another four were wounded when the stumbled across a landmine.
