A car bomb exploded in the middle of a market district in a Shiite neighborhood of southern Iraq today, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens of others. The explosion occurred in the town of Bathaa, the scene of fierce battles between Shiite militia factions that had been relatively peaceful since a ceasefire. The explosion is the latest worrying sign about Iraqi security ahead of the US military's withdrawal from urban areas on June 30.
(More Iraq death toll stories.)