Iraq violence sees spike

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BAGHDAD, March 12 (AP): Violence appeared to be on the rise in Iraq after a day that saw at least 42 people die - numbers that cast doubt on the easing of sectarian violence following a surge of U.S. forces to the country last year.
An Iraqi official confirmed the grisliest attack of Tuesday when 16 passengers on a bus in southern Iraq were killed by a roadside bomb. The U.S. military, however, claimed no one died in the attack, which was targeting a passing military convoy. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear.
Dr. Hadi Badr al-Riyahi, head of the Nasiriyah provincial health directorate, confirmed Wednesday that the attack on the bus traveling from Najaf to Basra killed 16 civilians and wounded 20.
At the time, a local policeman and the assistant bus driver also said 16 people were killed.
But Maj. Brad Leighton, a military spokesman in Baghdad, disputed that claim on Wednesday, telling The Associated Press that only one coalition soldier and one Iraqi civilian were wounded in the attack about 50 miles from Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad.