Three parked car bombs and two roadside bombs in the Iraqi capital Tuesday morning killed at least 18 people and wounded 63 others, AP quoted police as saying. A car bomb detonated at 9:30 a.m. (05:30 GMT) at the parking lot in central Baghdad, near the health ministry and the so-called Medical City complex of buildings including several hospitals and a forensic institute. Seven people were killed and 23 wounded in that blast, a police officer said. Seconds after the detonation, a mortar landed in the area as well, the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media. Some 11 cars were also damaged by the explosion. Another parked car bomb went off near a police patrol in Palestine Street in eastern Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding six others, said the police officer. In Baghdad's southeastern area of Zafaraniyah, a roadside bomb targeting another police patrol killed one policeman and injured two pedestrians, the officer said. Two more civilians were killed and six others injured when a roadside bomb went off around 9:30 a.m. (05:30 GMT) next to a mini bus traveling through Baghdad's eastern neighborhood of Baladiyat, the police officer added. Around noon, a third parked car bomb struck a busy market in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Ur, killing six people and wounding 26.
