Nine killed in Iraq Bus Terminal Explosion

The bomb exploded in the town of Garmat Ali, around 20km north of Basra.Another car bomb went off in a carpark for government offices in the city of Basra, wounding two people, police said.
GARMAT ALI, Iraq: A car bomb exploded at a bus terminal in Iraq's predominantly Shi'ite Muslim south yesterday, killing at least nine people, police said.

"I was thrown back by the explosion. Then I stood up and ran back to help the victims," said bus driver Hameed Salman, his white clothes stained with blood. I carried five bodies myself and put them in some civilian cars to take them to the hospital," he added.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack.
Violence has increased with the swell of Sunni opposition to Maliki and Iraq's Al Qaeda affiliate has urged protesters to take up arms against the government.
Security experts say Al Qaeda-linked militants have been regrouping in the western province of Anbar and crossing into Syria to join mainly Sunni rebels battling forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.