TEHRAN, Jan. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Death toll in two huge bombings in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz on Tuesday morning has risen to eight, the official IRNA news agency reported.

   In addition, 46 other people were wounded in the two successive blasts, according to the report, citing local medical staff.

   The first bomb exploded in front of a privately-owned bank and the second blew off before a government building, said the report, adding that the blasts also caused some damage and fire engines and ambulances were rushed to the scenes.

Iranian firemen work at the scene of a bomb blast in the mainly Arab southern city of Ahvaz Jan. 24. (Reuters)

   The explosions occurred as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been originally scheduled to visit Ahvaz on Tuesday, but the trip was cancelled on Monday due to bad weather, said the president's office.

   Tuesday's bombings have been the third such 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, leaving eight dead and scores of others injured.

   On Oct. 15, 2005 two consecutive bomb blast struck an IT commercial center in Ahvaz, killing six and wounding 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 authorities and local residents have become a serious concern of the Iranian government, which blames the tension on the continuous provocation of some foreign countries. Enditem