Blasts in city south-east of Baghdad wound at least 60 people Two explosions have hit a crowded market in a city south-east of Baghdad, killing 34 people. The blasts in Kut, 100 miles from Baghdad, went off as construction workers were gathered in a market selling generators and other appliances. A police spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Dhurgam Muhammad Hassan, said the first bomb went off in a freezer. Then, as rescuers and onlookers gathered round, a car bomb exploded. According to the region’s top medical official, Diaa al-Aboudi, 34 people died in the explosion. Hassan put the number of the wounded from the blasts at 60. The Kut explosions were the first major act of violence since Iraq’s political leaders earlier this month announced that they would begin negotiations with the US over whether to keep a small number of American forces in the country past 31 December. All US forces are to leave the country by the end of this year but both Iraqi and US officials have expressed concern about the ability of Iraqi forces to protect the country. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Kut attack. In July, 37 people were killed during an explosion in Taji, north of Baghdad. Iraq Middle East guardian.co.uk