A roadside bomb exploded near the garden of a house in Madain, while a second bomb detonated after people gathered at the site of the first blast, an interior minister official said.

A medical source said that two hospitals had received seven bodies and more than 20 people who were wounded in the blasts, while the interior ministry official said eight people were killed and 10 wounded.

With the latest violence, at least 183 people have died in Iraq since June 13 -- more than the number of people killed in all of May, according to official figures.