Baghdad market blast kills seven

Seven people have been killed in an explosion near a market in a southern district of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, officials say.

It is thought the blast was caused by a car bomb or a mortar attack.

At least 15 people were wounded in the explosion, which hit a minibus terminal near a market, officials said.

The blast, in the Zafaraniya district of the Iraqi capital, came a day after a traffic ban - imposed to try to prevent car bombs - was lifted.

At least one minibus was left a burning hulk by the explosion.

One unconfirmed report said a bomb was placed on the bus itself.

"A bomb placed on a minibus at a stop at a passenger bus terminal exploded on Saturday morning, killing seven people and injuring 15 others," a source in the interior ministry was quoted as telling AFP.

The area hit by the blast is near the town of Nahrawan, where gunmen went on the rampage on Thursday, killing 19 Shias in what is thought to have been a sectarian attack.