Basra: Sixty people were killed and dozens wounded in this Southern Iraqi city today (April 21, 2004) when missiles slammed into three police stations, according to a hospital official.

Basra Police Chief General Mohammad Kadhem al-Ali said missiles fell on three police stations after a series of three successive explosions which shook the city soon after 07:00 hours (08:30 hours IST).

A British military spokesman said the explosions were believed to have been caused by three car bombs outside the police stations.

Coalition forces were only able to get to one of them, the al-Ashar police station, because crowds were stoning troops at the other two, said spokesman Squadron Leader Jon Arnold.

The Basra attack came a day after 22 people were killed and about 100 others injured in a mortar attack on a US-run prison West of Baghdad.