Two blasts rock market in Ukraine capital

Two blasts rocked a wholesale market in the northern suburbs of Ukraine's capital Kiev today, wounding 13, two seriously, an …

Two blasts rocked a wholesale market in the northern suburbs of Ukraine's capital Kiev today, wounding 13, two seriously, an Emergencies Ministry official said.

The device used and the motive behind the explosions were being investigated, he said.

The two devices went off in quick succession at about 6 p.m. at Kiev's Troeshchina market, which sells mostly clothes and household goods.

Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted a source as saying the market was nearly deserted at the time of the blasts, with only a few traders and cleaners left. The source said the devices were probably placed in waste bins.

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Many markets are controlled by competing trading groups and fighting between them is commonplace.

There was no immediate indication that the blasts had any link to Ukraine's military presence in Iraq, where it is a member of the US-led coalition.

Leftist politicians have called for their withdrawal and the deployment has become a major political issue in the run-up to a presidential election due in October, but protests against their presence in Iraq have not been violent.