Motorcycle explosion kills 4 in southern Iraq

Baghdad, Dec 7 (EFE).- At least four people were killed and as many were injured on Tuesday in an explosion that hit the southern Iraqi city of Basra, officials said.

“A motorcycle exploded in the province of Basra (…) which caused the death of four citizens and injuries to four others as two nearby vehicles caught fire,” the Iraqi government-linked Security Media Cell said.

Forensic experts are at the scene to determine the circumstances of the blast that took place in one of the most important cities in the country, the cell’s statement read.

It is as yet unconfirmed whether the motorcycle had been rigged with an explosive or if the incident involved a suicide bomber.

Such attacks are relatively rare in the oil-rich and Shiite-majority Basra province, especially since the territorial defeat of the Islamic State terror organization in December 2017. EFE

sy-ar-ijm/ta