Motorcycle bombing in Iraqi city of Basra kills 4

A motorcycle rigged with explosives went off in the centre of Iraq’s southern city of Basra on Tuesday, killing at least four people and wounding four others, according to Iraqi security forces.

The blast set ablaze two other vehicles and sent a column of black smoke into the sky. The governor of Basra, Asaad al-Idani, told reporters on the scene that a motorcycle had exploded, quickly blaming militants from the Daesh group.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the morning attack near a major hospital, which shook residents of the city.

Iraq’s Security Media Cell, an outlet affiliated with the country’s security forces, said in a statement that four people were killed and four were wounded as a result of the fire in two cars that were near the motorcycle.

It said forensics teams were at the scene of the blast and that more details would be released on the nature of the explosion, once investigations were completed.

Explosions have been rare in the oil-rich, Basra region in recent years, particularly since the defeat of the Daesh group in 2017.

“Daesh is trying to destabilise security in Basra, but it will not be successful,” Al-Idani said after inspecting the damage from the blast, using the Arabic acronym for the group.

• MENA