Car Bomb Rocks Baghdad

A car bomb in northern Baghdad killed six people and injured 14 others, including three policemen, Iraqi police and medical officials said.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sunday's bombing occurred in the predominantly Shiite Shaab neighbourhood.

The injured were taken to al-Kindi Teaching Hospital in the Nahda neighbourhood, where AP Television footage showed some of the injured receiving treatment.

Speaking to AP Television, Dr Ali Abdul-Rahman said the hospital had received five cases, "one was dead and the others are wounded."

The attack comes after Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said on Saturday that the government had defeated terrorism in the country, in a sign of growing confidence after recent crackdowns against Sunni extremists and Shiite militias.

Al-Maliki launched the crackdowns to extend the authority of the government over areas in Baghdad and elsewhere that have largely been under the control of armed groups since the US-led invasion in 2003.

Although violence in the country has fallen to its lowest level in four years, daily attacks continue throughout Iraq.