Dozens Killed in Iraqi Holy City

"The people have a right to blame us and feel disappointed," Imshaher said. "We failed in front of our God and our people. And the reason is that we do not have enough fighters and equipment."

Abdul Kareem al-Kinani, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said the agency had received no such request. Karbala's police force is adequate, he said.

Qassim Abdul Sada, who runs a parking lot 400 yards from the bus station, said he feared the blast would devastate local businesses by keeping pilgrims away. "It is a crime to destroy the economy of this safe, stable and quiet city," he said. "The lapse of the security forces is clear. The lapse is as big as the distance between the earth and the sky."

In Baghdad, a car bomb exploded on the Jadriyah bridge and killed 10 people but did no serious damage to the structure, police said. It was the second bombing in two days to target a Tigris River span in the capital. Thursday, a car bomb severed the Sarafiya bridge, one of the city's most beloved landmarks, and killed 11 people.

In Kirkuk, four would-be suicide attackers were killed when an explosives belt worn by one of them inadvertently detonated as they rode in a car, police said.

U.S. soldiers captured 17 suspected terrorists, including a leader of the group al-Qaeda in Iraq, during raids Saturday morning just north of Baghdad, the military said. British forces killed eight suspected insurgents as they planted roadside bombs near the southern city of Basra, the British military said in a statement.

Twenty-one unidentified bodies were found across Iraq on Saturday, police said.

Sarhan reported from Najaf. Special correspondent Naseer Nouri in Baghdad contributed to this report.