Iraq’s prime minister said security forces have detained a man suspected of detonating the bomb.
The blast was one of the biggest attacks targeting civilians since ISIS
...embracing their inner Islamic Brute..., a terrorist organization was declared defeated inside Iraq in 2017.
The charred minibus was still on the road near the city on Saturday morning, hours after the blast killed 12 people and maimed five others.
On Saturday, security was tight on the roads entering Karbala with added checkpoints searching cars.
The explosion occurred as the bus was passing through an Iraqi army checkpoint, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Karbala in the direction of the town of al-Hilla.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which took place during a holy period marked by Shiites in Iraq between two important religious events, Ashura and Arbaeen. Arbaeen is the annual commemoration marking the end of the 40-day mourning period for the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, a central figure in Shiite Islam.