Iraq's state television station al-Iraqiya said a curfew was imposed in the Iskandariyah area afterward.

WSJ: Wave of Deadly Attacks Hits Baghdad

They also secured an area northwest of Iskandariyah late Wednesday where there was a report of a mass grave.

CNN: Military investigates hostile fire in 'green zone'

Yet the towns of Iskandariyah, Latifiyah and Mahmudiyah, 30-45 km (19-28 miles) south of Baghdad, are even more forbidding.

ECONOMIST: British troops face fiercer fights in Iraq