Huge crowds have gathered to mourn and bury more than 100 people killed in Tuesday's wave of bombings in Karbala and Baghdad. In Karbala, as the coffin of one local Shia cleric passed, draped in a black flag with verses from the Quran, bystanders on Wednesday reached out to touch it and then held their fingers to their lips whispering "al-Husain"! At least five bombs tore through Karbala on Tuesday morning, just as a major Shia festival was concluding, killing at least 112 people and wounding 235, according to a senior local cleric. The US military said one of the blasts was caused by a human bomber but the statement could not be confirmed. Coordinated strikes against Iraqi civilians in Baghdad killed 70, according to the latest Health Ministry figures. In Karbala, mourners paraded the coffins past the scene of the attacks, where 24 hours earlier the streets were filled with blood and the bodies of the dead, before carrying them to al-Husain mosque. There they were draped with Iraqi flags before being borne to another nearby shrine. Later on Wednesday more than 50 coffins are expected to be driven to Najaf, south of Karbala, where they will be buried. The mourners were mostly calm, but some were angry at the Americans, who they said had not done enough to protect the Ashura religious processions from attackers. Others laid the blame on Sunni Muslims and Al-Qaeda. **Al-Qaeda Denies Accusation*** But Al-Qaida denied the accusations in its new letter which was sent to London based Al-Quds Al-Arabi and blamed the US. "We have nothing to do with these acts," said the statement signed Abu Hafs Brigades/al-Qaida. "We strike the American crusaders and their allies. We strike the Iraqi police that work for America, which uses them like a stick to beat the Mujahidin (Islamic fighters) in Iraq." The letter was signed by the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades and was sent to the London-based al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper. **Another attack*** The violence continued on Wednesday when an Iraqi civilian was killed when a rocket was fired at Baghdad's central telephone exchange, police said. "The rocket was fired at the al-Maamun central telephone exchange killing an Iraqi worker," said the official, on condition of anonymity. A major part of the exchange was officially opened last week after months of reconstruction work. The facility was hit by cruise missiles and a bomb when the US-led occupation launched its war to oust Saddam Hussein almost a year ago. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Iraqi Shi'ite men wave religious flags as they condemn the attack at Baghdad's Immam Kadem mosque, March 3, 2004. (REUTERS/Ceerwan Aziz)