A big explosion hit the headquarters of the Italian Carabinieri in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya Wednesday morning, wounding several Italian military policemen, the Italian and British military said.

"I can tell you there was a big explosion, I don't know if there were any casualties," Italy's Captain Marco Mele told Reuters.

A spokesman for the British-led multinational force which controls southern Iraq said the explosion happened at 10:50 a.m.

"There have been a number of injuries to coalition forces," said Major Charlie Mayo.

In Rome, the spokesman of the Commander General of the Italian Carabinieri (Military Police) said "A bomb exploded in front of the military police base of MSU (Multinational Specialized Unit) ... there are many wounded among our troops and among the Iraqis."

There are around 2,300 Italian troops in southern Iraq. Many of them are based in the small city of Nassiriya which has been relatively calm since the U.S.-led war.

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