A roadside bomb detonated near the US embassy office in the southern Iraq city of Basra today, killing two people and wounding three, a witness said.
The two killed were travelling in a vehicle at the time of the blast, some 50 metres (yards) from the US embassy compound, the witness said, adding the vehicle was destroyed.
Those wounded were passers-by. The US embassy in Baghdad and US military officials had no immediate comment. The nationality of those killed was not known.
The key oil city of Basra, where British forces are deployed, has witnessed frequent clashes between insurgents and US-led forces. There have been frequent car bomb and roadside bomb blasts in the city over the past 17 months.