Tuesday, March 2, 2004 Posted: 0753 GMT ( 3:53 PM HKT)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A series of explosions early Tuesday rocked a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad and the Shiite holy city of Karbala, during the Muslim sect's Ashoura holiday. Dozens were reported killed or injured.
CNN's Jane Arraf in Baghdad said tens of thousands of pilgrims had filled the streets of the capital city neighborhood for the religious ceremony.
A CNN staff member reported piles of bodies stacked onto pickup trucks as the sounds of ambulances could be heard racing through the streets.
In Karbala, CNN's Brent Sadler said he heard a series of six explosions over five minutes and could see swirls of smoke rising above the city.
Video from scene showed blood-soaked streets littered with body parts, fires burning and pilgrims running in panic from the blast sites.
Shiites are marking the month of Muharram. The explosions came on the most important day of the month -- Ashoura, on March 2.
During Muharram, Shiite Muslims recall the seventh-century death of Hussein, grandson of Islam's prophet, Muhammad.
The violence comes just a day after Iraq's Governing Council agreed on an interim constitution. The council is expected to sign the document after the end of the Shiite feast Ashoura on Wednesday.
Entifadh Qanbar, spokesman for council member Ahmad Chalabi, said the meeting ended at 4:20 a.m. (8:20 p.m. ET) with "full agreement ... on each article."
He said the draft charter will recognize Islam as "a source of legislation" -- rather than "the" source as some officials had sought -- and that no law will be passed that violates the tenets of the Muslim religion.
The constitution is intended to govern the nation until an elected assembly can draft and make into law a permanent charter.
The agreement missed its Saturday deadline, but the handover of power to an Iraqi transitional government will still take place on June 30, according to various officials.
Earlier, council member Mowaffak al-Rubaie said the meticulous crafting of an appropriate document was more important than meeting the February 28 target date, set down by the political handover agreement in November.
"We are building a new Iraq and this needs to be done properly," Rubaie said, adding, "failure is not an option."
Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian administrator, has to sign off on the draft. Among the tough issues in the session were the role of Islam and issues concerning the Kurds.
Bahram Saleh, the prime minister of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's region, said it is "an important night" and the negotiations reflect "an exciting moment in history."
The PUK is represented on the council by Jalal Talabani and Saleh sat in for him at the press conference.
"This is the very first time in the contemporary history of the Middle East that such a wide range of opinions are engaged in a serious discussion about the future of their country," Saleh said.
The draft law is seen as an unprecedented democratic blueprint for a permanent constitution with Western cornerstones, such as a bill of rights and civilian control of the military.
The transitional law is designed to expire after a permanent constitution is approved and elections are held sometime after the June 30 handover of power to Iraqis.
The United States and the Iraqi Governing Council are intent on adhering to the June 30 deadline and are now determining the appropriate Iraqi body to be handed power this summer....