Car bombs kills 15 people in southern Iraq

At least 15 killed and 36 others were injured when a car bomb exploded at a restaurant in the southern Iraqi city of al-Hamza on Wednesday, police sources said.

Elsewhere, two Iraqi soldiers were killed and 10 others wounded when a bomb attached to a military bus exploded at a military base in Habaniya, about 85 km (50 miles) west of Baghdad sources, Saad and the military said.
Bombings and killings happen every day in Iraq more than eight years after the US-led invasion though violence has declined from the peak of sectarian fighting in 2006-07.
The first incident occurred outside the tourist restaurants Ihsan, a popular rest-stop by the main highway for people who traveled through the al-Hamzah, located just south of Hilla, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad.
"I was in the kitchen when suddenly I heard a loud explosion I heard screams., And the sound of people running. I left the kitchen and went outside to see people covered in blood, lying on the ground," said Tahsin Mahmoud, a worker in restaurant kitchen. "It took a long time for Iraqi security forces to reach the scene."
A Reuters reporter at the site said the entire front of the restaurant was destroyed, with broken glass on the floor and blood stains covered the food, chairs and tables in the place.
Deputy Health Minister Saad al-Khamis said the eight killed and 36 wounded.
A military source reported a bombing at Habaniya said: "The soldiers completed their academic training and a bus took them to breakfast at the restaurant at the base when the bus reached the restaurant it exploded .."
Military sources initially said 15 soldiers were killed and 20 others wounded, but later said that the number of victims is less.
"The first report we received said it was a bomb attached to a bus carrying soldiers There are about 40 soldiers on board the coach .. They said 15 were killed, 20 wounded," said a military source at the center of operations in Anbar province.
"We received another report after it with a higher toll. But when we checked with Habaniya military hospital, they said we only accept two people were killed and 10 wounded," the source said.
Attacks on Iraqi soldiers and police have increased as they prepare to take responsibility for security ahead of a full withdrawal of U.S. troops is expected by year end.
Iraqi politicians are trying to decide whether to ask Washington to leave some troops in Iraq after December 31, to continue to train soldiers and police.
In August, 45 policemen and 39 soldiers were killed in bombings and shootings, according to figures from the interior and defense ministries, while 155 civilians were killed, Iraqi health ministry statistics show.