BASRA: A car bomb exploded near the outskirts of the south Iraq city of Basra yesterday, killing 10 people and wounding 16, the head of the Basra provincial council security committee said.

The bombing at a bus station came soon after another went off in the center of Basra, Iraq’s main port city, at about 11 a.m. (0800 GMT), causing no casualties, Ali Al-Maliki said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but militants including those linked to Al-Qaeda target civilians, security forces and government employees in a bid to reduce confidence in the government and destabilize the country.

Attacks in Basra are relatively rare compared with other areas of Iraq, especially the center, west and north.

Also yesterday, a suicide bomber driving an explosives-rigged truck wounded three police near Baiji, north of Baghdad, a police colonel and a medical source said.