BASRA, Iraq, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Three explosions on Saturday ripped through a popular market in Iraq's southern city of Basra, leaving at least 16 people dead and around 116 others wounded, local police source told Xinhua.

The first blast was caused by a car bomb in the market, then a generator and it's tank were also blew up, said the source, adding the blast reason of the generator and it's tank was not immediately known.

The explosions occurred in the commercial area, huge smoke can be seen in Basra city which locates 550 km south of Baghdad. Many people can't leave the blast site because of the heavy smoke, the source added.

Violence and some high-profile attacks are still common in Iraqi cities as part of recent deterioration in security which shaped a setback to the efforts of the Iraqi government to restore normalcy in the country about five months after violence-torn Iraq held parliamentary elections on March 7.