Twin car bomb explosions hit town in southern Iraq

Two car bombs went off Sunday coordinately in the town of Samawa, the capital of Muthanna province, leaving dozens of people killed and wounded, a security source said.

A booby-trapped car parking near the provincial government compound detonated around noon, while another car bomb ripped through a parking lot in al-Sharji district in downtown Samawa, some 270 km south of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

There is no immediate report about the exact number of casualties, but the source said that dozens were killed and wounded.

Iraq is currently witnessing a wave of violence since the Islamic State group took control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions in June 2014.

Earlier, a report by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) estimated that 1,119 Iraqis were killed and 1,561 others wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in March across Iraq.

Source: XINHUA