BAGHDAD, Sept. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- 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 9p.m. (1700 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. Enditem