Sixteen people were killed and 21 others injured in a car bomb outside a restaurant in the southern city of Basra Wednesday evening, police said.

The blast occurred in the neighborhood of al-Jameiyat at about 9 PM (17:00 GMT), as the restaurant was packed with Iraqi security forces members.

Insurgents have from time to time attacked Iraq's fledging security forces in a bid to cripple the government.

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2005)