Baghdad - At least seven civilians were killed and around 36 injured in an accident northwest of the Iraqi city of Basra, a spokesman of the Multinational Forces (MNF) in southern Iraq said on Wednesday.

The collision between the bus and the MNF armoured vehicle took place on Tuesday evening on the highway northwest of Basra, the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency quoted Major Bill Young, the official spokesman for the MNF as saying.

Iraqi police and British military police were investigating the incident, according to Young.

Basra is location 590 kilometres south of Baghdad. (dpa)