The blast in Karbala, home to two of the world’s holiest Shiite shrines, appeared to target Iranian pilgrims visiting the city, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of the Iraqi capital, police said.

Police and hospital officials said several Iranian pilgrims were among those who died in the attack, which also wounded at least 30. They did not have exact figures for casualties among the Iranian pilgrims.

The blast comes as Iraq’s political leaders are trying to overcome an eight-month political stalemate over who will run the country following inconclusive elections held March 7.

As the political bickering continues, many Iraqis have grown increasingly worried that militants are trying to exploit the gridlock to deepen the country’s sectarian divides.

The car bomb exploded at a parking lot in the center of Karbala. The parking lot is used by Shiite pilgrims traveling between Iraq’s holy sites; such parking lots have often been targeted by Sunni militants unable to get close to the holy shrines due to beefed up security.

A doctor at Karbala’s Al-Hussein hospital, Alaa Abdul-Zahra, confirmed the death toll.