Bomb kills 39 in Iraqi city of Karbala as McCain and Cheney visit Baghdad

BAGHDAD — A female suicide bomber attacked a group of Shiite worshippers near a mosque in Karbala on Monday, killing at least 39 people and wounding 54, officials said.

The worshippers were gathered at a sacred historical site about half a mile from the Imam Hussein shrine, one of the holiest sites for Shiites.

Karim Khazim, the city's chief health official, said the 39 dead included seven Iranians.

Police said the attacker was a woman but provided no other immediate details. Karbala is located about 50 miles south of Baghdad.

Police closed the area around the twin golden dome mosques and blocked all roads leading to the sites. The site includes tombs of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson who was killed in a seventh-century battle, and his half brother, also a Shiite saint.

Ali Hassan, 30, a clothing merchant who was wounded in the blast, said he was standing near his stall "when I heard a big explosion and I felt strong fire throwing me in the air."

"The only thing I know is there was a big explosion and I saw bodies flying in the air," said Hassan Khazim, 36, who was wounded in the face. "All the tight security measures designed to protect us were in vain."

Separately, a roadside bomb killed two U.S. soldiers Monday as they were clearing a route north of Baghdad, the military said.

The violence came as Vice President Dick Cheney and Arizona Sen. John McCain made overlapping visits to the capital, touting recent security gains and promising to uphold a long-term military commitment to the country so long as al-Qaida in Iraq is not defeated.

Explosions also struck earlier Monday not far from Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, shortly after Cheney arrived. Helicopter gunships circled central Baghdad, but no other details were immediately available on the cause of the explosions.

McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate for president who has linked his political future to military success in Iraq, met Monday with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki shortly before the Iraqi leader began separate talks with Cheney.

Al-Maliki said he and the vice president discussed ongoing negotiations over a long-term security agreement between the two countries that would replace the U.N. mandate for foreign troops set to expire at the end of the year.