Fifty people suspected of involvement in Iraq's insurgency have been detained in Najaf following yesterday's suicide car bombing.
The death toll from the attack has risen to 52 killed and over 140 wounded. The bombing followed a similar blast in nearby Kerbala that killed at least 14 people and wounded about 40.
The total toll on the day was at least 66 dead and over 180 wounded.
Both explosions occurred not far from some of the holiest shrines in Shia Islam and came six weeks before a January 30th election that should hand power to the long-oppressed Shia majority at the expense of Saddam Hussein's fellow Sunnis.
Shia leaders called for calm, saying yesterday's attacks looked like an attempt by radicals to ignite sectarian conflict.
A ceremony in Baghdad today to choose the order in which parties and blocs appear on the ballot was attended by more than 200 people clearly eager for the election.
Polls show that about 80 per cent of Iraqis would like to vote. But doubts remain over what will happen on election day, particularly in predominantly Sunni areas, where most of the violence has been concentrated in recent months.
Still, 7,000 candidates are signed up to stand in the poll and some 6,000 voting stations, protected by local security forces and manned by Iraqi monitors, will be set up nationwide.
Reinforced US units are on hand, but hope to stay in the background to avoid appearances of an American-run election. The vote is for a 275-seat national assembly that will help form a government and write a permanent constitution before another election is held in December 2005.