The series of suicide bomb attacks was continued on Monday, the day US Vice President Dick Cheney visited Baghdad, as a female wearing an explosives-laden vest detonated it close to a Shiite shrine in the Iraqi city of Karbala. The powerful blast killed at least 36 people and wounded at least 50 according to health and police reports.

Cheney made an unannounced visit to the Iraqi capital to meet US and Iraqi leaders and confer about the country’s security issues.

The exact place where the woman blew herself up was about one-half mile from the Imam Hussein shrine of Karbala. She was among a large crowd of people when she detonated the explosives which ripped people apart, sending body parts all over the place.

Seven pilgrims which came from Iran at the shrine were also killed in the explosion according to AFP which quoted Salim Kadhim, spokesman for the Karbala health directorate.

It’s not the first time the insurgent carry out attacks on the Shiite shrine so after the blast, the local police imposed a curfew in the central districts of Karbala.

The suicide bomb attacks have increased recently and most of the volunteers are women. Nevertheless, it’s not sure weather they volunteer for the attacks or not, but there were cases when insurgents used mentally disabled women to do the job.

The bloodiest bomb attack carried out by a woman occurred last month in two very crowded Baghdad markets. The woman blew herself up and took with her at least 100 civilians. A Sunni tribal leader was also a victim of a female suicide bomber when she detonated her explosive vest near him on March 10 in the Diyala province.

"Late in 2007 there were about eight or 10 (suicide bombings) a month; in the month of February, there were 18. There is an increase," Rear Admiral Gregory Smith said during a news conference on Sunday.