Motorcycle bombing in southern Iraqi city of Basra kills 4

By NABIL AL-JURANI
Associated Press

BASRA, Iraq (AP) — An explosion has rocked the center of Iraq’s southern city of Basra, killing at least four people and wounding four others. The blast on Tuesday sent a column of black smoke into the sky. Local news reports initially reported a car bomb, but the governor of Basra told reporters on the scene that a motorcycle had exploded. It was not immediately clear whether a bomb had been rigged to the motorcycle or if it was a suicide bombing. Explosions have been rare in oil-rich Basra in recent years, particularly since the defeat of the Sunni militant Islamic State group in 2017. Basra is predominantly Shiite.