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| City cleared after Iraq clashes | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have been ordered to leave a Shia festival in the Iraqi city of Karbala after heavy shooting broke out in the city. | |
| Gunmen exchanged fire with police near the holy Shia shrine of Imam Hussein, causing panic among worshippers. | Gunmen exchanged fire with police near the holy Shia shrine of Imam Hussein, causing panic among worshippers. |
| Iraqi police say 25 people have been killed and 65 injured - mostly pilgrims or Iraqi security forces - since clashes erupted on Monday evening. | |
| Police have stopped people entering Karbala and have sealed off the shrine. | |
| Shias gather in the city each year to mark the birthday of the Imam Mahdi. | |
| Witnesses report seeing columns of smoke rise from the city and hearing the sound of intense gunfire. | |
| The BBC's Mike Wooldridge, in Baghdad, says that initially, trouble appeared to revolve around the tight security checks imposed to protect the pilgrims but the motive for the latest clashes is not yet clear. |