Hadi Mizban / AP

Victims of Thursday's car-bombing in Iraq were returned from the Shiite festival of Arbaeen, which is shown in Karbala.

Updated at 1:30 p.m. ET -- A car-bomb explosion tore through a crowd of Shiite pilgrims returning home Thursday from a religious commemoration, killing at least 27 and reinforcing fears of renewed sectarian violence, according to Iraqi officials.

The blast erupted late in the afternoon in the town of Musayyib, about 40 miles south of the Iraqi capital. It targeted worshipers returning from the Shiite holy city of Karbala following the climax of the religious commemoration known as Arbaeen.

Children were among the 20 people confirmed killed, according to a police official. At least 60 people were wounded.

The bomb went off in the middle of a gathering of pilgrims changing buses coming from Karbala on their way to other destinations in the country, according to police.

Wave of attacks kills more than 100 in Iraq

"The explosion shook the whole block and smashed the windows of my house," said teacher Ibrahim Mohammed, who lives nearby. "I ran to the scene of the explosion only to find charred bodies and burning cars. There were women screaming and searching for their missing children."

Ali Sabaar, a pilgrim who said he witnessed the explosion, also described a horrific scene.

"I was getting a sandwich when a very strong explosion rocked the place and the blast threw me away," he said. "When I regained my senses and stood up, I saw dozens of bodies. Many cars were set on fire. I just left the place and didn't even participate in the evacuation of the victims."

A hospital official confirmed the casualty toll. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information to reporters.

Thursday marked the height of Arbaeen, when hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims converged on Karbala to mark the passing of 40 days after the anniversary of the seventh century martyrdom of the revered Shiite saint Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

Shiite pilgrims are one of the favorite targets for Sunni insurgents during Shiite religious events.

Bus blast kills more than 30 during Eid holiday

Iraqi authorities typically tighten security in Karbala and along routes used by pilgrims, but security forces acknowledge they are unable to prevent all attacks.

As in previous years, the pilgrims practiced the ritual of self-flagellation on the streets, hoisted Shiite religious flags on trees and lamp posts and served food from tents pitched on street corners.

Zaid Mohammed, a 21-year old student, said he walked to Karbala from a nearby city to show his deep respect for Imam Hussein.

"All the people came here to show their gratitude and appreciation for the sacrifices made by Imam Hussein while fighting injustice," he said. "We have decided to confront all the security risks that we might face on our way to Karbala."

State television earlier Thursday aired video of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki walking among the pilgrims.

Arbaeen has been a frequent target for militants since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein, who banned Shiite festivals.

At least 70 killed during religious festival

The latest violence followed nearly two week of protests against Maliki by thousands of people from the minority Sunni community in the western province of Anbar.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Uncle Sam is Watching You:  Before last night, we already knew the Bush administration had spied on some U-S journalists...inside the US. Last night, on this newscast, we revealed the new allegation that Mr. Bush's National Security Agency was systematically -- 24 hours a day -- monitoring not just individual reporters, but entire U-S news organizations, as well as other organizations, the identities of which we still do not know. Tonight, in our third story... Russell Tice, the NSA whistleblower who revealed that breathtaking claim on this program last night... returns. And he is breaking more news. First, some context.

Uncle Sam is Wathing You (2): The NSA had access to all Americans' communications... With certain groups monitored -- quote -- "24-seven, 365 days a year... happening all the time"... according to our previous guest, Russell Tice.  And one -- of many -- targeted groups were journalists...So, in our number two story, do any of these journalist-targets know they were targets?

Worsties: John Gibson, the head of Merrill Lynch and Rush Limbaugh vie for tonight's honors.

Almost Here: Inheriting a nation at war on two fronts...as well as a financial crisis. At least one stimulus plan already seeming to have been put into action... even before Mister Obama takes the oath of office at Noon tomorrow on the steps of the Capitol behind me: Our fifth story on the Countdown:  For all the grim reality, it is as if a grimmer one still has been removed, exorcised... As if a storm has broken, and for whatever the devastation, now, at long last, the clean-up and the repair, can finally begin.

Lincoln Thinkin':  "We have nothing to fear but fear itself...""Ask not what your country can do for you, Ask what you can do for your country..." "The better angels of our nature." That last quotation, of course, from Lincoln's first inaugural address. But in our fourth story on the Countdown: It is Lincoln's second inaugural speech which appears to be inspiring -- and intimidating -- President-elect Obama on the eve of his own inauguration.

Inauguration Anticipation:  Despite all the democratic talk of change...Despite all the Republican rhetoric about measuring of drapes. The President-Elect is going to keep... the oval office decor. Including Laura Bush's rug. Our third story on the Countdown, the inauguration of Barack Obama.

Worsties...see below.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: Ken Blackwell,  Ben Baldanza and Wendell Goler vie for tonight's top honors.

Special Comment on Torture:  Finally tonight as promised, a Special Comment about the President-Elect, the soon-to-be President-Emeritus, torture, and its prosecution. We have tortured people. You and I. This is the people's democracy, we are the people, these are our elected officials. That they did not come to us and ask to act thusly in our names is unfortunate, indeed criminal, but it is also almost irrelevant. They work for us, they tortured people, and so...we have tortured people. You and I know we have tortured Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. We not only know about it; we have now heard it boasted about by one of the men who as of tomorrow will no longer work for us: George Walker Bush.

America's Torture Scars: And virtually everything Mr. Obama must undo starting next Tuesday, President Bush did... in the name of 9/11. We had to shred the Constitution, for 9/11. We had to become torturers, for 9/11... to prevent another one... to ensure justice for those behind 9/11 itself. And tonight, in our fifth story, on the eve of Mr. Bush's last fevered attempt at legacy re-writing, tonight we know for sure not only that Mr. Bush's decision to torture merited that word -- we know it now from a Bush official... But we also know that it has denied this nation, the victims of 9/11, and their loved ones... the chance to see some justice done... for that awful day.

Exit Laughing:  In his news conference Monday -- the one where he at least copped to the word mistakes... and having made some.President Bush, again claimed -- even if jokingly -- that he has been "mis-underestimated" In our fourth story on the Countdown:  No joke, unfortunately, earlier tonight... when his Vice President, Dick Cheney, insisted that the Bush White House hasn't made any mistakes...Only "under-estimated things"No Mis.  Well, except for the entire premise.

ODDBALL: A doggie goes awii...and a car goes up.

Search for Justice:  Under the Bush White House it has become corrupt in a way not seen since the Attorney General brainstormed with Richard Nixon on how **not** to prosecute Watergate. With dozens of conservative ideologues placed in career positions -- jobs that will outlive the current administration... The sender of a racist e-mail, we learn tonight, not only still in the employ of the department, but now assigned to **another** racially-sensitive post. Our third story on the Countdown - what does President-Elect Obama **do** about the Department of Justice?

Worsties....see below.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: Glenn Beck,  Larry Schweikart and Senator James Inhoff

The Lion's Den: Talking with, not at the loyal opposition is one thing...  And President-elect Barack Obama has already met with Republican and Democratic lawmakers...dwarfing President Bush's actual acts (not his self-proclaimed status as) a "uniter."But now, in our number one story on the Countdown... there is this. A move that might be described as pre-emptively charming...  The President-elect, literally, walking into a den of conservative pundits... who have often framed him as, the enemy.

You're Welcome, America:  The ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today calling Senator Hillary Clinton, quote: "the epitome of a big leaguer"...Making reference to working with her "when she is secretary of state"...Adding that "her qualifications for the post are remarkable."Our fifth story on the Countdown: Since her fitness for the job is not and never was the question...Congressional Republicans today dredging up their most memorable accomplishment of the 1990's. Pointlessly beating up on her husband.

Ga Ga for Gitmo:  He's never made a secret of his affection for a place most commonly associated with indefinite detention and torture. Now tonight, in our fourth story on the Countdown -- Dick Cheney using his last days in office to evaluate the place as you would for a tour guide..."First-rate... very-well run..." Everything but four jee-deed stars in the Michelin book.

ODDBALL: Jumping in ice water and an inaugural cheesecake.

The GOP Horserace:  We already knew that President Bush had corrupted even the US Justice Department... that his political appointees appointed their own political appointees to fill even jobs that are not allowed to be political... with political appointees. And we knew that the appointees of Mr. Bush's appointees broke the law in doing so, by applying a political litmus test to job applicants... in violation of the law those appointees were sworn to enforce. Tonight, in our third story, we now have the smoking guns -- plus a little racism thrown in for bad measure -- in a stunning report from the Justice Department itself.

Worsties...see below.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, and Bill-O the Clown vie for tonight's top honors.

Palin Keeps on Talkin':  Honestly, at this point Governor Sarah -- just call me victim -- Palin... should be on tour -- or at least on with Doctor Phil. This interview is with Esquire magazine... And in our number one story, she hits her usual targets -- bloggers, and people who think you can't see Russia from Alaska...But this time, she also attacks -- with a stunning lack of moderation -- the McCain Campaign.

Closing Argument:  He ranged from reminding the viewer of the angriest of Richard Nixon's news conferences... to recalling Hillary Clinton choking up with emotion at a diner in New Hampshire... to finally, ultimately, sounding like the buzzed guy at the bar running the gamut of emotions from regret, to buying a round for the place, to challenging everybody there to a fight. Our fifth story on the Countdown: at least there was this to say about the final news conference of George W. Bush, as President...Nobody threw a shoe at him this time.

Exit Interview:  47 minutes of defiance, deception and disappointment. Our fourth story on the Countdown, the 47th and final solo press conference of President George W. Bush.

ODDBALL: a flying moose, marriage at Taco Bell and a train collides with a truck.

A Torture Free Confession:  Possibly as early as one week from tomorrow, President Barack Obama will issue an executive order to close the U-S detention center at Guantanamo Bay. That news, still unconfirmed, from the Associated Press tonight... MSNBC and NBC News reporting that the shutdown itself... could take more than a year. Our third story tonight... at least two executive orders, the one on Gitmo, another on torture, reportedly expected in the first week of the Obama Administration, in the wake of the current President's startling admission about what did he know, and when did he know it.

Worsties...see below

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: Brit Hume, Bill-O the Clown and  "Joe" Wurzelbacher.

All the Keith that's Fit to Print:   To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, the only thing worse than not talking about one's self, is missing a chance to talk about one's self. Our utterly self-conscious number one story on the Countdown: The New York Times holding its annual "Arts and Leisure Weekend" in which luminaries like Sir Salman Rushdie, Glenn Close, Tavis Smiley, Lewis Black, Whoopi Goldberg, and Barbara Walters were interviewed, live, on stage. And there was apparently a cancellation in the slot for Saturday at 4 PM. And they televised it on C-SPAN or they're going to. Or something.

War Crime and Misdemeanors: The trouble with running as a change candidate...With presenting your candidacy as a vessel to wipe clean the abuses of the previous administration...Is that -- upon taking office -- people are going to be expecting change... substantial change... with the urgency of now. Our fifth story on the Countdown: On the one hand, President-elect Obama again promising today that his administration will not torture... On the other... picking as his top adviser on counter-terrorism... a CIA veteran under fire for his past statements about... torture.
 
Spare the Rod:  Over the generations, the governors of Illinois have managed to corrupt everything from the choice of Senators... to the Visiting Nurse Association. Yet in our fourth story on the Countdown, Rod Blagojevitch today became the first of them... ever impeached. And not only is he still refusing to resign. He's claiming that he's the victim here.

ODDBALL: Baby Mangini, a weather cat and a electric.

Bush The Liberator:  President Bush yesterday told the Dallas Morning News that the Freedom Institute at his presidential library won't be the "George Bush is a Wonderful Person Center" or the "Center for Republican Party Campaign Tactics"... because it'll be a place of "debate" and "thought." Unlike, say... the Bush White House. Our third story tonight, Freedom, and the George-Bush-is- a-Wonderful-Person legacy.

Worsties...see below.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: Glenn Beck, Alberto Gonzales and a couple of high schoolers that stole a car vie for tonight's top honors.

She's Back:  Governor Sarah Palin is consistent, to a fault, on this central point. Regarding her shortcomings, it is never her... but us. Even if she has to stretch the definition of us to include a right-wing propagandist who once boasted he had sketched out a plan to assassinate O-J Simpson. Once again, in our number one story, Governor Palin claims the media is guilty of taking her comments out of context. Even though it was her new conservative champion, John Zeigler, who posted more than nine minutes of an interview with her on the internet, and provided all the context there is... And even thoughher answers to his questions -- many of which we played in full, here, yesterday -- were clear. Or as clear as they could be, in Palin-speak. Like what she said about Caroline Kennedy.

The Fierce Urgency of Mid-February:  Throughout the transition -- the American economy plunging ever deeper into crisis -- The reality that the nation has only one president at a time...and it is not yet Mr. Obama... Never seeming more prohibitive... or surreal...Than this morning... When, in our fifth story on the Countdown: The President-elect, taking the extraordinary step of giving an address to the nation before he takes office... Warning that without swift and dramatic action... The American economy could be mired in recession -- or worse -- for years to come.

Second Opinion:  Some Republican bloggers are grumbling about CNN's Sanjay Gupta as surgeon general... annoyed with his reporting on John McCain's health records... fact-checking his reporting on Reagan's AIDS record.  Our fourth story... is not that. But now a leading Democrat... Congressman John Conyers... is asking fellow Democrats to petition President-elect Obama against nominating Gupta.

ODDBALL: A Panda that bites, and a bunch of doggies with dots.

Class Distortion:  Since the mainstream media has recently blasted Caroline Kennedy for her frequent use of the verbal crutch, "you know" in interviews... And since Governor David Paterson now says that Kennedy's lack of elected experience does not help her...And since a new poll shows that Kennedy's support among New York Democrats is lagging... It is curious, in our third story on the Countdown, that Governor Sarah Palin has now suggested that she and Ms. Kennedy have been treated differently by the media... because of which class -- her term -- each belonged to.

Worsties...see below.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD:  Brit Hume of Fox News, Michelle Malkin and Bill O'Reilly

Palin Unplugged: No one has ever accused Governor Sarah Palin of being deep... But her personality sure is wide...And her ability to reveal huge and troubled yet eternally entertaining parts of it, seemingly limitless. In our number one story on the Countdown: you've already heard her complaint that she believes Caroline Kennedy is getting a free ride from the media because of the quote "class" to which she belongs. That was just the start of the Governor's latest self-immolation, supporting the contention of right-wing propaganda-producer John Ziegler that elite media bias kept the Governor, and Senator McCain, out of the White House. It began with the blogosphere and ended with me... But there was one continuous thread. Whatever happened, not in a million years, was any of it... her own fault.

Reid it and Weep:  On Capitol Hill, the clock, ticking down on putting together that economic stimulus bill... that Mr. Obama has named as his top priority upon taking office. Exactly what has the Democratic leadership of the Senate done during the 32-hours -- and counting -- since it convened its new session? In our fifth story on the Countdown: We know what they won't be doing -- they won't be watching someone seek their Senate nomination in Pennsylvania... details presently. But exactly what have the Democrats done? Day two of the Circus Burris...

Wall to Wall Presidents:  What Barack Obama today participated in, at the White House, was an extraordinary moment. Assuming he is sworn in as scheduled... This was five of the 44 presidents in American history... 11-point-36 percent of all of them... in one place, at one time. And in our fourth story on the Countdown: ironically it was about an hour after Obama created a new federal post, essentially to clean up the sundry messes President Bush made.

ODDBALL: Nude Skier update and a deer in a bank.

Stings of Leon:  Just as congressional hurt feelings seem to be mending over the leak of Leon Panetta as CIA chief... before those members knew about it... now we have reports of objections within the CIA. What... they didn't see this coming? Our third story tonight, why are some CIA insiders... grumbling about Leon Panetta?

Worsties...see below.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: Bill O'Reilly,  Congressman Cliff Stearns and Brian Kilmeade vie for tonight's top honors.
 
Poor...Nography:  A five-billion dollar bailout... for the American porn industry. Hmmm. In our number one story on the Countdown: apparently there is no limit to what has been wrought by a stripped-down economy.

In The Line of Firings:  Vice President-elect Joe Biden today calling the transition team's leak of the Panetta pick at CIA -- without having first informed Senators Feinstein or Rockefeller, the top two Democrats on the Intelligence Committee -- quote: "Just a mistake." Yet the transition did not make the mistake of neglecting to inform Senator Wyden -- the one, two, three -- third ranking Democrat on the Committee... Raising the question -- in our fifth story on the Countdown -- of whether the President-elect deliberately did an end-run around Mrs. Feinstein and Mister Rockefeller... Two Democrats who have failed to curtail -- if not enabled -- the Bush administration's policies on the torture of detainees... And the wiretapping of its own citizens.

Not in his Saddle:  The 111th Congress began its historic term today... with a misreading of its own rules... on who can be in the 111th Congress. Our fourth story tonight... breaking news in the lonely saga of hypothetical Illinois Senator Roland Burris...
 
ODDBALL: Naked on the slopes and a power washed robber gets away.

The GOP Horserace:  He's a real doctor nd he plays one on TV. Our third story on the Countdown -- President Elect Obama's apparent choice for Surgeon General? Not Doctor Phil, nor Doogie Howser. But Doctor Sanjay Gupta of CNN. Okay, let it out. Your first thought, possibly something like this... Isn't this like making Judge Judy the Attorney General?

Worsties...see below.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD:  Tom McClusky, Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin vie for tonight's top honors.

Epic Inauguration:   The President-elect has not complained about...  What may be a flat-out insult by the outgoing administration of President Bush. More on that with the reporter who broke this sorry tale, Margaret Carlson, presently. Two weeks from today -- in our number one story -- an inauguration guaranteed to be momentous with the imprint of history...  And tailored to set a new tone from a new president. Preceded by a train procession, a public concert at the Lincoln Memorial, and a day of community service. Then, the Inauguration and that night... the Balls.