IRBIL, Iraq — Iraqi police and hospital officials said a car bomb went off not far from one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites in the city of Najaf, killing seven people on Monday.
Officials say the blast went off about 500 yards from the shrine of Imam Ali, one of the most revered Shiite saints. Two Iranian pilgrims were among those killed.The blast came hours after a car bombing in Karbala, another holy Shi'ite city south of Baghdad, also killed seven people, including six Iranian pilgrims.
The blasts came as Iraqi politicians met in the northern city of Irbil in an attempt to form a new government after inconclusive elections in March.
