The death toll from mortar attacks in a market south of Baghdad on Saturday rose to at least 16, a well-informed Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

A total of 60 others were wounded in the blasts, the anonymous source said.

Earlier, the source said ten people were killed and 53 others were wounded when a popular outdoor market was shelled by mortar rounds south of the capital.

At least a dozen of mortar rounds hit the market in the city of Mahmoudiyah, some 48 km south of the capital, at sunset shortly before iftar, the time for breaking the daily fast during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, the source added.

Source: Xinhua