Deadly bomb hits Iraqi shoppers

At least seven people have been killed by a car bomb in the Iraqi town of Mahmudiya, 30km (20 miles) south of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, reports say.

The blast hit a busy market place as people were shopping to buy evening food to break their Ramadan fast.

Local police said another 21 people were injured in the explosion.

Overall violence across Iraq has fallen in the past two years but there has been an increase since US troops pulled out of urban areas at the end of June.

August saw the highest number of deaths from violence in the country for more than a year.

Iraqi government figures showed that 393 civilians were killed that month, along with about 60 police officers and soldiers.

Mahmudiya is located in an area that used to be known as the "Triangle of Death" because it was so troubled by fighting between Sunni Arab and Shia militants.