A car bomb has exploded in the main market place in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, killing at least 28 people and wounding at least 60.
By
BBC

Source:
AFP
4 Jun 2006 - 12:00 AM  UPDATED 22 Aug 2013 - 12:18 PM

Police said the market was crowded with shoppers when the bomb went off.

It was one of the deadliest attacks in the city since the start of the war three years ago.

The explosion happened just days after the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki visited the city and imposed a state of emergency in an attempt to bring calm.

Hours before,, a Russian diplomat was killed and four others kidnapped when gumen attacked their vehicle in Baghdad.