BASRA, Iraq, Jan 20 (AFP) - Five British soldiers and several Iraqi civilians were wounded Thursday in an explosion outside a British military base near the southern city of Basra, the military said.
"Several Iraqi civilians have suffered injuries but we cannot yet confirm the number of the injured or the severity of the injuries," the British military said in a statement.
"We can confirm that five soldiers from 2nd Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment were injured."
The Ministry of Defence in London earlier confirmed the blast.
Witnesses suggested that the blast was caused by a suicide car bomb but there was no independent confirmation.
"A white Caprice with three men inside stopped at the first checkpoint which is manned by Iraqi security," said one witness.
"Then, two British military vehicles moved up from the second British-manned checkpoint and pulled up alongside the car to check the occupants. This is when the car blew up," he said.
"Near the car, a mini-bus was waiting to pick up the Iraqis who were going home after work on the base," he explained.
Witnesses said they believed several Iraqis may have been killed in the blast, but there was no immediate confirmation.
The Basra area had been largely quiet in recent months, but insurgents bent on disrupting the January 30 general elections have targeted Shiite areas.
01/20/2005 20:01 GMT - AFP