A bomb planted on a road in the southern Iraqi city of Basra tore a minibus apart on Tuesday, killing at least three Iraqis and scattering body parts across the road.

Police at the scene said three people inside the minibus were killed in the blast. They initially thought four had been killed due to the large number of dismembered body parts at the scene.

Police said no British troops, who are in charge of policing Basra, were in the area at the time of the blast.

A British military spokeswoman said she was aware of reports of an explosion but had no further details.

Mainly Shi'ite southern Iraq has seen fewer attacks on occupying troops than Baghdad and the Sunni Muslim heartland around the Iraqi capital.

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