Iraqi officials say a car bomb in a Shiite suburb of Baghdad has killed four people and wounded 12 others. Two police officers say the parked car bomb went off early morning today in Hussainya and killed four civilians.
They added that 12 others, including four policemen who were in a nearby checkpoint, were wounded. The Shiite-dominated district is located some 25 kilometers east of the center of the capital.
A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to release information.
Violence in Iraq has spiked since April 23, when security forces tried to make arrests at a Sunni Muslim protest camp in the northern city of Hawija.