Three powerful car bombs exploded one after the other in a southern provincial capital Wednesday, killing at least 46 people and injuring 149 others, the most devastating attack in the nation since August, police said.The attack in Amara, in Maysan province, is believed to be the first mass bombing there since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The area is considered one of the country's safest, and the bombings shattered a hopeful, if brittle, lull in Iraq's violence.
British forces are preparing to hand over neighboring Basra province this weekend to Iraqi security forces, and the bombings underscored the fragility of southern Iraq, where rival Shiite groups are battling for influence and resources.
Police expect the death toll to rise because immediate casualty numbers varied. Officials in Amara said that at least 46 were killed; Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, spokesman for Iraq's Interior Ministry, which oversees the national police, put the toll at 26.
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