The death toll rose to 47 from a suicide car bombing on Saturday near a holy Shiite shrine in Karbala, some 100 km south of Baghdad, a local police source said.

A total of 150 others were also injured while the suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden car in a crowded commercial area about 500 meters away from the most revered shrine of Imam Hussein, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The blast occurred when many people were heading to the area for evening prayers, the source said.

Earlier, the state-run television al-Iraqiya reported that a car parked near the shrine went off, killing at least 42 people.

On April 14, a car bomb hit the same area, killing at least 40 people and injuring 60 others.