Twin central Iraq blasts kill 33

KUT: A car bomb and a roadside blast in the central Iraqi city of Kut killed at least 33 people and wounded 52 others, a doctor said, updating an earlier toll.

"We have so far received 33 dead bodies and are now treating 52 injured," said Ali Hussein, a doctor at Kut's Al-Zahra hospital. He said there were women and children among the casualties.

A security official earlier said the 8:00 am (0500 GMT) explosions occurred in a crowded area in the centre of the city, 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of Baghdad.

The attacks come less than two weeks after Iraqi leaders said they would hold talks with the US over a security training mission to last beyond 2011, when all 47,000 American soldiers must withdraw under the terms of a bilateral security pact.

Violence in Iraq has declined from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common. A total of 259 Iraqis were killed in attacks in July, the second-highest figure for 2011. (AFP)