TEHRAN, Jan. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- At least six people were killed and several others injured in two bomb blasts that ripped through Iran's southwestern city of Ahvaz on Tuesday morning, state television reported.

   Earlier, the TV reported that four people were killed in the huge explosions.

   In addition, the blasts also caused some damage and fire engines and ambulances were rushed to the scene, the official IRNA news agency said, revealing no other details.

   Tuesday's explosions are the third such bombing case since last June in Ahvaz, capital city of the southwestern province of Khuzestan, which borders Iraq.

   On June 12, 2005, three bombs exploded concurrently near public facilities in the city, laying eight dead and scores of others injured.

   On Oct. 15, 2005, two consecutive bomb blasts ripped through an IT commercial center in Ahvaz, killing six and wounded more than 50.

   Khuzestan accounts for almost 90 percent of Iran's nearly 132 billion barrels of proven oil reserve and most of the country's two million ethnic Arabs live in the province.

   Conflicts between the government and local residents have become a serious concern of the Iranian authorities, which blames the tension on the continuous provocation of some foreign countries. Enditem