A car exploded in a busy Baghdad street today, killing at least two Iraqis and wounding 13, a US officer on the scene said.
Colonel Mike Murray said the target of the attack was not known.
"There was a Mercedes car driving down the street and then it turned and suddenly blew up," said witness Mr Mohammad Abbas. "After that we didn't see anything."
Debris was scattered across a wide area and a pall of smoke hung over the area as crowds of locals gathered to look at the destruction. Fire fighters were also at the scene, dousing the burnt-out wreckage of several cars.
A US soldier said the blast was caused by a "vehicle-borne improvised explosive device" - U.S. military terminology for a car bomb. But some Iraqi witnesses said they believed a rocket or mortar had hit the street.
In the aftermath of the blast, some Iraqis tried to tend to the wounded and to collect body parts.
Guerrillas have mounted several car bombings this month, including a suicide attack that killed the head of the Iraqi Governing Council.