BAGHDAD — A car bomb ripped through a market district today in a mainly Shiite area in southern Iraq, killing as many as 35 people and wounding dozens.

The blast is the latest in a series of high-profile explosions that have raised concerns about a resurgence of violence as the U.S. military faces a June 30 deadline to withdraw from urban areas.

The explosives-laden car was parked in the center of the commercial area in the town of Bathaa when it blew up about 9 a.m.

Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack, but car bombings are a signature of al-Qaida in Iraq. The U.S. military has warned the Sunni terror network could be expected to try to foment sectarian violence in a bid to upset security gains ahead of the U.S. withdrawal.

Persistent violence as the Americans begin to withdraw has raised new questions about the readiness of Iraqi forces.

Officials gave conflicting death tolls, as is common in the aftermath of bombings in Iraq. They also faced the difficulty of gathering information from a small town.

By The Associated Press