Four Iraqi men and a boy were killed when a car bomb exploded near Buraq Hotel in the southeast city of Basra on Thursday, according to reports.

An old Mercedes Benz was used in the attack, witnesses told CNN.

The southeast region, largely Shiite, is controlled by British forces, who dispatched troops to the blast site.

The attack comes a day after the bombing in Baghdad, which virtually destroyed Mount Lebanon Hotel and killed at least 29 people.