This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/6732999.stm

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Two car bombs kill 15 near Basra Two car bombs kill 15 near Basra
(about 1 hour later)
At least 15 people have been killed in two car bomb blasts near Basra in southern Iraq, hospital officials say. At least 15 people - including women and children - have been killed in two car bomb blasts in southern Iraq.
At least another 30 were injured in the blasts, which took place in the town of Qurna, 60km (35 miles) north of Basra. At least another 30 were injured in the attacks, which took place in Qurna, 60km (35 miles) north of Basra.
One exploded at a bus station and the other shortly afterwards at the market in the town around 0730 (0330 GMT), officials said. One exploded at a bus station and the other shortly afterwards at the market in the town at around 0730 (0330 GMT).
A doctor at the town's hospital said that there were women and children among the dead and injured. Such attacks occur daily in Baghdad and other parts of troubled central Iraq, but there have been very few as far south, says our Baghdad correspondent.
And a witness quoted by the Associated Press news agency said the blasts had struck an area crowded with farmers coming to town to shop and sell their produce and sheep, chicken and other animals. The bombs, hidden in two parked cars, went off in swift succession just as people were starting to crowd into the street market area in the centre of town to sell or buy fresh produce.
There was no apparent target, apart from the people themselves, says our correspondent.
Stoking tensions
The population in the south is mainly Shia.
There are local power struggles, but indiscriminate car bombs like this in busy areas are not part of that, our correspondent says.
Most of the violence in Iraq is between Sunnis and Shias.
The Sunnis accuse Shia militias and their allies in the security forces of operating squads that kidnap, torture and kill Sunni civilians.
Similar explosions elsewhere have been widely blamed on Sunni insurgents.
This attack is likely to be seen as yet another attempt to stir up sectarian trouble between Shias and Sunnis, says our correspondent.
Hundreds of people die every month in attacks which have brought Iraq to the brink of civil war.Hundreds of people die every month in attacks which have brought Iraq to the brink of civil war.
Millions of people have also been displaced by the spiralling sectarian strife.Millions of people have also been displaced by the spiralling sectarian strife.
Most of the violence is between Sunnis and Shias. Friday's attack in Qurna came just a day after another British soldier was killed in a clash with Shia militia fighters further south at Basra itself, bringing the total of British who have died in Iraq in the past four years to 150.
The Sunnis accuse Shia militias and their allies in the security forces of operating squads that kidnap, torture and kill Sunni civilians. American forces have now lost more than 3,500 troops.
Suicide bombings blamed on Sunni militants frequently target Shias.