MOSCOW, June 16 (RIA Novosti) – At least twenty people were killed in a series of car bombings that rocked central and southern Iraq, the BBC reported on Sunday, referring to police and medics.
The bombings took place in areas with a high concentration of Shia Muslims - Kut, Mahmoudiya, Nasiriya and Basra.
The deadliest blasts occurred around the central city of Kut where two parked car bombs targeted an industrial area and a gathering of construction workers. In Basra, twin car bombs exploded in a busy street, killing five people. The second bomb reportedly went off as rescuers rushed to the scene of the initial blast, police reports said.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bombings but tensions between the Shia Muslim majority, which leads the government, and minority Sunnis have been growing since last year, the BBC said.
According to the BBC, last month was the bloodiest in Iraq since June 2008, with 1,045 civilians and security officials killed.
