Two dead in bus station bomb blast

A bomb exploded at a crowded bus station south of Baghdad today, killing at least two people and injuring four, police reported.

The device detonated as passengers were boarding a bus in Hillah, a predominantly Shiite city about 60 miles south of Baghdad, police Captain Muthana Khalid said.

The vehicle was destroyed in the blast.

Jawad Khazim, a bus driver who witnessed the attack, said a man boarded the bus carrying a bag and disembarked moments later empty-handed.

Minutes later, the explosion happened, Khazim said.

Today was the first day normal traffic was allowed in Hillah after the strife-prone region was placed under a daylight curfew to curb a wave of sectarian violence.