Twin blasts rock Iraqi city

08/08/2010| IslamWeb

At least 20 people have been killed and more than 100 injured after at least two blasts rocked a market in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

Initial reports said that a car bomb, followed by a secondary explosion, hit the busy al-Ashaar marketplace in Basra city on Saturday.

But police officials insisted the blasts were caused by a power generator exploding.

"The explosion was caused by an electricity generator short-circuiting," Colonel Karim al-Zaidi, a spokesman for Basra's police command, said.

Hospital officials said that 110 people had been injured in the explosion.

Cause unknown

Other security officials said that the cause of the explosion was not known.

Hussein Talib, a member of parliament for Basra, hinted that the blasts could have a more sinister cause. 

"As a lawmaker from Basra I hold the military and police leadership responsible for the blood that has been shed," he said. 

"They are not responding to the people of Basra. We want the police of Basra to be responsible for security in Basra and we have constantly been repeating this request."

Private communal generators are common in Iraq, where demand for electricity dramatically outstrips supply, forcing the use of unpopular power rationing.

Electricity shortages triggered protests across the country over the summer, including in Basra, that eventually led to the resignation in June of the electricity minister.

PHOTO CAPTION

Map of Iraq locating the city of Basra

Al-Jazeera