A car bomb ripped through Baghdad's police headquarters this morning, killing one Iraqi policeman and wounding about 15 in a suspected attempt to assassinate the city's US-appointed police chief.
A bomb hidden in a car parked in a garage adjacent to the office of city police chief Hassan Ali detonated at 11:15 a.m., police and witnesses said, starting a fire and sending a plume of black smoke into the sky.
Ali was not in his office at the time of the blast but the attack dealt another blow to Washington's efforts to stabilize occupied Iraq.
The blast killed one police officer, a US military spokesman said. Hospitals said 14 people were injured in the blast and reporters saw another wounded officer at the scene.
Witnesses said a large explosion targeted the Rasafa police headquarters in eastern Baghdad at 11.15 a.m. (8.15 a.m. Irish time), starting a large fire and sending a cloud of black smoke into the sky.
Two fire engines and several ambulances rushed to the scene as US military police cordoned off the area and a helicopter gunship circled the complex.
Iraq has seen a series of bomb attacks in the past few weeks. A car bomb killed a top Shi'ite Muslim cleric and more than 80 others in the city of Najaf on Friday.The UN headquarters and the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad have also been bombed.