Baghdad, April 24 (IANS): At least 10 people were killed and some 20 others wounded in a suicide car bomb attack Thursday targeting police near Iraq's central province of Babil, a provincial police source said.
The attack occurred in the morning when a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden car at a police checkpoint just north of the provincial capital city of Hilla, some 100 km south of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Three police officers and five policemen were among those killed, the source said.
The toll could rise as ambulances, police and civilian vehicles evacuated the casualties to city hospitals and medical centres, the source added.
The attack came six days ahead of Iraq's parliamentary elections, the first in the country since the withdrawal of US troops in late 2011.