Bus Bombings Kill At Least 11 In Iraq

Bombs attached to two minibuses exploded southeast of Baghdad Monday, killing at least 11 people, according to an Iraqi police official.

The bombs went off minutes apart in the primarily Shiite city of Kutz, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, said Iraqi police Brig. Gen. Raed Shakir Jawdatan.

Eleven more people were wounded in the attacks.

The first blast occurred at about 1 p.m., killing nine on a minibus headed to Baghdad, Jawdatan said. That was followed about 30 minutes later by another explosion on a bus, killing two, he said.

The bombings are the latest in a series of attacks in Iraq that have killed hundreds in recent weeks, raising fears about the abilities of Iraq's security forces to protect Iraqis.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki faces increased political pressure from fellow Shiites.

Major Iranian-backed Shiite groups Monday but excluded the prime minister in a rare display of disunity among the country's majority Islamic sect. The move means al-Maliki must strike a deal with Sunni parties if he hopes to keep his job after January's parliamentary elections.