At least four people were killed after a landslide destroyed a Shia shrine in Karbala province, central Iraq, the health ministry said.
Rescuers drove a bulldozer through the entrance of the Qattarat al-Imam Ali temple, which resembles a half-dome richly decorated with blue bricks covered with Arabic letters.
The sacred building, flanked by two towers, lies at the foot of high, bare stone walls. Part of its concrete roof had been ripped off.
Rescuers pulled six survivors out of the rubble following Saturday’s landslide, the statement said. Search and rescue operations are continuing in case more people are buried under the rubble, it added.
The Qattarat al-Imam Ali shrine is located in the western desert of Iraq, about 28 km (17 mi) from the city center of Karbala, one of the holiest sites for the Shia.
