In a rocket attack on the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala in Baghdad, 7 people have been killed and many injured. The Karbala Police officials noted that several mortars landed and killed seven pilgrims and injuring 46, in a neighborhood a few kilometers northwest of the center of the city. The mortar explosions also ripped through a number of nearby houses in the northwest of Karbala. Meanwhile, a bomb detonated inside a restaurant in Baghdad's northern neighborhood of Sadr City, killing five people.1
In another development an Iraqi military helicopter has crashed in a sandstorm southwest of Baghdad, leaving all five of its crew dead, the commander of the country's air force says. Defense ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari confirmed the crash, saying the helicopter was a Russian-designed Mi-17.2