Forty-one Iraqis were killed in bombings today in the city of Karbala as Shia pilgrims gathered for the last day of a religious festival in the holy city.

The mode of the attack is still unclear. Some reports indicate that two car bombs were detonated outside one of three entrances to the city, but the governor of Karbala province claimed that a mortar struck a crowd of Iraqis outside the city.

“A mortar round was launched from fields northeast of the city,” Governor Amalheddin al Hir told AFP. “I accuse al Qaeda who are being supported by the Baath party.”

Another 144 Iraqis were wounded in the blasts, including 60 women and four children, according to Voices of Iraq.

Today’s strike is the fourth major terrorist attack in Iraq this week and the seventh since Jan. 25. Three of the bombings have occurred in Baghdad, and four in Karbala. The last four attacks have targeted Shia pilgrims traveling to Karbala.

The attacks have taken place since US and Iraqi security forces killed al Qaeda’s top suicide bomber facilitator in Iraq during a raid in Mosul on Jan. 22. Abu Khalaf, who managed al Qaeda’s facilitation network from Syria, entered Iraq sometime last fall to direct al Qaeda’s suicide bombing campaign.

Al Qaeda has targeted Shia religious processions in Iraq over the past three years in an effort to reignite sectarian tensions that nearly led to a civil war in 2006 and 2007.

The Iraqi government and the US military have said that the face of al Qaeda in Iraq has changed as the group has incorporated more Iraqis into its leadership ranks.

Major attacks in Baghdad and Karbala since Jan. 25, 2010:

Feb. 5, 2010: Thirty-one Iraqi pilgrims were killed in bombings in Karbala.

Feb. 3, 2010: Twenty-three Iraqi pilgrims were killed in a bombing in Karbala.

Feb. 2, 2010: A suicide bomber killed six Iraqis in an attack east of Karbala.

Feb. 1, 2010: A female suicide bomber killed 54 Shia pilgrims in Baghdad.

Jan. 26, 2010: A suicide bomber killed 18 Iraqis in an attack on a police forensics lab in Baghdad.

Jan. 25, 2010: Thirty-six Iraqis were killed in three suicide attacks that targeted hotels in Baghdad.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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