15 killed in Iraq bomb attacks

Up to 15 people were killed and 39 others wounded in three bomb attacks in Iraq's capital Baghdad Wednesday morning, a police source said.

In one attack, a booby-trapped car went off at a park outside the Iraqi foreign ministry building in the city centre, killing five people, injuring 17 and destroying several cars, the source told Xinhua.

In the same area, another huge blast occurred when a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden vest at a restaurant, killing six people, including security members, and wounding 13 others, the source said.

Iraqi security forces blocked the area around the ministry building, which is adjacent to the heavily fortified Green Zone that houses some government offices and the US embassy.

Meanwhile, up to four people were killed and nine wounded in a second car bomb explosion in Sinak commercial district on the eastern bank of the Tigris river that bisects the capital, the source added.

Iraq is witnessing its worst violence in recent years. According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, a total of 8,868 Iraqis, including 7,818 civilians and civilian police personnel, were killed in 2013, the highest annual death toll in years.