Three dead, 25 injured in car bomb attack

A suicide car bomb detonated near Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s party headquarters today, killing two police officers, one civilian and injuring 25 other Iraqis, police said.

Allawi, a secular Shiite leader, was not at the headquarters of his Iraqi National Accord party when the blast occurred in the capital’s western district of Harithiya, his aides said.

Initial police reports said that two Iraqi police officers and one civilian were killed in the blast when a yellow car tried to ram through a police checkpoint on the Zaytoun street near the headquarters.

Twenty-five other people were injured, including 18 policemen and seven civilians.

Three police vehicles and the car bomb were on fire at the checkpoint after the explosion.

Allawi’s party offices are located about 100 yards from his residence. Witnesses in the neighbourhood said machine gun fire could be heard after the explosion.

US military spokesman Captain Darren Luke said that no US-led multi-national troops were near the scene of the blast.

Insurgents have frequently targeted Iraqi politicians, US troops and Iraqi security guards in their bloody campaign against national elections scheduled for January 30.