18 killed in Iraq suicide car bombing

BAGHDAD - At least 18 people were killed and 80 injured when a suicide car bomber struck at a government forensics centre in central Baghdad Tuesday, authorities said.

The attack took place at about 10.45 a.m. near the criminal investigation office close to the Taharriyat Square in Karrada, Xinhua news agency reported.

The suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden car to the entrance of the office and blew it up, an interior ministry source said.

The blast came a day after the three suicide car bombings targeted major Baghdad hotels that killed at least 36 people and wounded some 70.

Sporadic attacks continue in Baghdad as part of recent security deterioration which shaped a setback to the efforts of the Iraqi government to restore normalcy in the country ahead of national polls slated March 7.