Car bomb kills six Iraqi soldiers

A car bomb exploded outside an Iraqi army base in central Baghdad today, killing six soldiers and wounding 25 others, officials said.

Another huge blast an hour later in another part of the city sent a thick cloud of smoke into the sky in southern Baghdad. It was not immediately known what caused the blast.

The first explosion occurred at a base that occupies the former Muthanna airport, which has been targeted by insurgents several times over the last year, police officer Salam Hashim Mahmoud said.

The explosion could be heard across the city, and a plume of black smoke billowed into the air afterward. Flames leapt from two vehicles set ablaze. Mahmoud said they were driving by at the time.

An Interior Ministry security official, Ayad Hadi al-Maliki, said six people were killed and 25 people were wounded in the Muthanna attack, 15 of them civilians.

Mahmoud said the bomber drove up to the base gate, where army recruits normally line up to apply for jobs.

Residents said Iraqi security forces opened fire after the incident. It was not known what they were aiming at.

US and Iraqi troops blocked roads and sealed off the area after the attack, preventing people from entering. Helicopters hovered overhead.