The death toll rose to 10 in a car bomb blast near a gas station in southern Iraqi city of Basra on Friday which also wounded up to 15 others, police said.

It was not immediately clear whether the blast was caused by a suicide bomber, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The attack occurred around midday in the second largest city, some 550 km south of Baghdad, he said.

On June 3, a suicide car bomber blew himself up near an outdoor market in the center of the southern oil-rich city, killing at least 27 and wounding over 60 others.

The explosion came after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced a state of emergency in Basra on May 31 in a bid to rein in the unrest there.

Basra had enjoyed relative calm since the Saddam Hussein regime was toppled in the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

About 8,000 British troops are currently deployed there.

Source: Xinhua