A car bomb exploded in a livestock market in Iraq's southern Babil province today, killing 12 people and wounding 40.
The blast occurred in a region that has been relatively peaceful for months.
Violence has fallen across Iraq to lows not seen since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, but militants are still capable of carrying out devastating bomb attacks.
It was not immediately clear which militant group was responsible for the blast in Hamza, a mostly Shia Muslim town 130 km south of Baghdad. Babil province has a mixed Sunni Arab and Shi'ite population.
The incident seemed to bear the hallmarks of al Qaeda, who favour high profile attacks such as bombing crowded places to maximise civilian casualties.
US troops currently play a low-key role in southern Iraq after handing over the main responsibility for security to Iraqi forces.
As the United States prepares to withdraw combat troops from Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010 and to leave the country completely by end-2011, US and Iraqi forces are racing against the clock to prepare Iraqi military and police to handle all threats.
