BAGHDAD, Dec. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Violence continued in Iraq on Sunday with about 60 killed amid former leader Saddam Hussein's anti-US call.

    About 47 people were killed and 90 others wounded in a car bomb blast near the Imam Ali shrine in the Iraqi Shiite holy city of Najaf on Sunday, a hospital official said.

    The blast took place at about 3:30 p.m. local time (1230 GMT) in a square where many people had gathered for a funeral, witnesses said.

About 47 people were killed and 90 others wounded in a car bombblast near the Imam Ali shrine in the Iraqi Shiite holy city of Najaf on Sunday, a hospital official said. (Xinhua/AFP photo) British soldiers patrolled the streets in Basrah, Dec. 19, 2004. (Xinhua/Reuters photo)

    It seemed that the attack was targeted at Najaf provincial governor Adnan al-Zurufi, who was standing with the city's police chief Ghalib al-Jazaari when the bomb was detonated about 100 meters away, said the witnesses.

    A black plume of smoke was seen rising into the sky, they added. The authorities imposed a curfew in Najaf's old city later.

    The attack came just two hours after a suicide car bomber exploded his vehicle near the main bus station in Karbala, another Shiite city located about 70 km northwest of Najaf. Hospital officials said about 14 people were killed and 40 others injured in that attack.

    The blast, which occurred not far away from the Iman Jussein mosque, destroyed about 10 buses and set ablaze five others, witnesses said.

    This was Karbala's second bombing in a week. On Wednesday, an explosion at the Imam Hussein Shrine killed eight people and injured 40 others.

    Meanwhile in central Baghdad, three employees working with the Iraqi Electoral Commission were killed Sunday, a well-informed source told Xinhua.

    The three were killed when unidentified gunmen attacked their car in Haifa Street, a bastion of insurgents, and the attackers ran away before the US troops rushed into the scene, he said. Two other employees escaped, he said.     

    IRAQI PM SAYS SMUGGLED ROCKETS SEIZED

    Iraqi security forces have seized missiles smuggled from one of Iraq's neighboring countries, said Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi in an interview with the Iraqiya television on Sunday.

    "We captured (the weapons) at the beginning of this week, (and)they were supposed to be fired by remote control," he told the Iraqiya.

    The smuggled weapons were aimed to attack the polling stations and election centers during the upcoming elections, said Allawi, failing to giving details on the type of the seized missiles and which country they were from.

    "Regrettably I cannot name it, but we know these weapons were smuggled from a nearby country," he said, noting the Iraqi interim government has contacted the country and waited for the latter's explanation.

    The prime minister said the interim government was working for a security plan to prevent possible attacks during the elections scheduled for Jan. 30, 2005.     

    SADDAM CALLS ON IRAQIS' UNITY IN ANTI-US OCCUPATION

    Imprisoned former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein appealed to his compatriots to be united against US occupation, his lawyers said Sunday.

    "President Saddam Hussein urged the unity of his Iraqi people, regardless of their religious and ethnic creed, to confront US plans to divide their country on sectarian grounds," said Ziad Khasawneh, spokesman for Saddam's defense team.

    Saddam relayed his message through Khalil Dulaimi, a member of his defense team who met the imprisoned leader Thursday. It was Saddam's first access to his lawyers since he was arrested a year ago.

    "President Saddam recommended to the Iraqi people to be careful of this election, which will lead to dividing the Iraqi people and their land," the spokesman said.

    Saddam is jailed in a 3-by-5-meter cell without any access to the outside world, but he is in good health and high spirits, said Khasawneh.

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