In the first attack, gunmen stormed a roadside restaurant near Nasiriya, the capital of Dhiqar province, and opened fire, a spokesman for the Iraqi interior ministry said.
Soon afterwards, a car bomb exploded at a nearby checkpoint. One report said four Iranians were among those killed.
The so-called Islamic State group has said it carried out the attack.
According to news agency AFP, one report said the attackers were disguised as members of Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) - a mainly Shia group that has fought alongside Iraqi forces against IS.
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