Car Bomb kills 27 in Iraq

Basra -- Three days after the new Prime Minister Nuri – al – Maliki announced a security crackdown, 27 people were killed in a car bomb in the southern city of Basra.

The explosion took place in the main marketplace in the old part of the port city.

It took place around 6:00pm local time and a large number of people were gathered in the area.
Till yet, there has been no claim of responsibility.
Basra had been relatively free of the carnage in Baghdad and other places but this blast has proved to be one of the worst attacks.

Extra troops and police have blanketed the streets in an effort to deal with the upsurge in violence in the south.
This blast occurred just a few hours after a Russian diplomat was killed and four Russian nationals were kidnapped in the capital Baghdad.