AP News AlertBAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Iraqi police say that nine people have died and 20 were wounded in a car bomb explosion in Baghdad.
Car bomb kills at least nine near zone housing U.S., British Embassies in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A massive car bomb exploded Wednesday at a checkpoint near an area housing international offices and embassies in Baghdad, killing at least nine people and injuring 20 others, police said.
The car was packed with 1,000 pounds of explosives and was detonated at a checkpoint leading to the parking lot, said Iraqi police Col. Majid Abdel Hamid.
Black and gray smoke poured into the air over the lot. Police cars and ambulances raced to the scene. Nine people died and 20 were wounded, said Maj. Haider Abdel Rida.
"We were gathering outside the convention center seeking jobs," said one witness, Alla Hassan. "We were thrown on the ground. Then I saw many dead people on the ground."
The area was once the headquarters of the U.S. occupation authorities, but now houses the U.S. and British Embassies, as well as the offices of the interim Iraqi government.
Iraqi police sealed off the area. U.S. helicopters hovered over the blast site.
At al-Yarmuk hospital, Iraqis waited anxiously outside for the ambulances to arrive.
Doctors worked frantically to cut bandages and tend to the wounded. Men arrived on stretchers, splattered with blood.