Iraq ? Explosions killed at least 20 people and wounded as many as 100 Saturday night at a downtown market in Iraq’s second-largest city, a senior official said, coming at the end of a violent day that also saw the slaying of seven policemen around the country.

It was the latest spate of attacks to come as all but 50,000 U.S. military troops head home by the end of the month. Deputy provincial council chairman Sheik Ahmed al-Sulayti said he was alerted by police late Saturday about the rising death toll in Basra, located 340 miles southeast of Baghdad. Al-Sulayti said at least 20 were killed by the blasts that came within minutes of each other at central Basra’s al-Ashaar market.