Car bomb hits busy Iraqi market

At least 10 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a bomb blast near a livestock market in Iraq. A car bomb exploded as people were buying and selling cattle in the busy market near the city of Hilla in Babil province, police said. At least 32 people were reported to have been injured. Babil province, south of Baghdad, has been the scene of attacks in the past but has been relatively peaceful for many months. The attack happened at around 0900 local time (0600 GMT) as traders gathered at the al-Medhatiaya animal market, some 120km (75 miles) south of Baghdad, the AFP news agency reports. Medical officials in the region confirmed there had been casualties, but the number of injured ranged from 32 to 56. Babil province has a mixed population of Shia and Sunni Muslims and has seen much sectarian violence as well as attacks on US forces. But violence abated in part because former Sunni rebels joined so-called Awakening Councils and turned against al-Qaeda militants. The US military handed over control of security in Babil to Iraqi forces last October.