KARBALA, Sept 19: Two suicide car bombers struck checkpoints south of Baghdad on Monday on a road used by thousands of Shia pilgrims making their way by foot to Karbala.

At least 10 Iraqis were killed, including seven policemen and a soldier, when the suicide bombers attacked two checkpoints half-way between Baghdad and Karbala, a defence ministry official said.

Twelve people, including a number of Shia pilgrims, were wounded, he added.

Iraqi security forces were out in force along highways leading to Karbala, 110kms south of Baghdad, and in the town itself, to guard against attacks at a time of heightened tension following the killing last week of more than 200 Shias in a series of bomb attacks.

Al Qaeda’s front man in Iraq Abu Musab al Zarqawi on Wednesday called for ‘all-out war’ against Shias after the Shia-led government launched an offensive to recapture the northern town of Tal Afar, held by anti-US guerillas.

The Shias on Monday were commemorating the birth of Imam Mehdi, the 12th and last imam who disappeared over 11 centuries ago.—AFP