Car bomb kills 9 outside Baghdad hospital

Baghdad, Mar 31: A car bomb exploded outside a hospital in a Shi'ite stronghold of Baghdad today, killing at least nine people and wounding three others, Iraqi police said, citing initial reports.

They said the blast took place outside the Sadrayn Hospital, the main hospital in Sadr City, a teeming Shi'ite enclave in the Iraqi capital.

Police also said 9 persons had been killed and 21 wounded in a car bomb attack in the Shi'ite city of Hilla, 100 km south of Baghdad.

There has been a surge of attacks in Shi'ite areas in the past week. Most of the attacks have been blamed on Sunni Islamist al Qaeda.

Reuters