Baghdad suicide attacks wound at least nine

A suicide car bomber and a man wearing an explosive belt detonated themselves today near a police station in central Baghdad, wounding at least nine.

Police said they shot dead a third attacker wearing an explosive belt before he could blow himself up at the same location, just outside the heavily-fortified Green Zone where the US Embassy and government offices are located.

The co-ordinated blasts occurred just seconds apart at about 9am (6am Irish time) at Salihiyah police station, which is about 200 yards from the Foreign Ministry headquarters.

Five policemen and four civilians were taken to Yarmouk Hospital in west Baghdad.