BAGHDAD, May 7: A car bomb exploded at a busy intersection in central Baghdad on Saturday as a foreign security convoy drove past, killing 18 people, including four foreigners. At least two of the sports utility vehicles in the foreign convoy were ablaze after the blast, and police pulled charred bodies from the wreckage. One Western man staggered from the scene with blood pouring from his head.

Black smoke billowed into the sky and ambulances converged on the scene, one of the capital’s busiest intersections.

Police said at least 35 people were wounded. The force of the blast tossed cars over a low wall onto a nearby underpass in the busy shopping district.

The car that exploded was parked on the central Tahrir Square, near Saadun Street. Nearby shops were severely damaged and at least eight more vehicles destroyed by the huge blast.

Another loud blast was heard from the direction of the Green Zone, a high security compound that is home to Iraq’s key institutions. US officials said they had carried out a controlled explosion.

Foreign officials and security contractors move around Baghdad in high-profile convoys of four-wheel-drive sports utility vehicles accompanied by armed guards. They are a frequent target for guerillas, particularly on the dangerous airport road.

Over the past weeks, guerilla attacks have surged in Iraq with a series of suicide bombings, ambushes and bomb blasts. Witnesses said there were two large explosions, but it was not clear whether the second blast was a car bomb or the fuel tank of a vehicle exploding.

A US embassy spokesman also said there were two explosions, adding that 22 people had died, including two Americans.

“Twenty Iraqis and two contractors were involved, according to our latest embassy information,” the spokesman said.

But an Iraqi security source said 18 people were killed in a single blast, including the four Americans. It was not immediately clear what caused the discrepancy in figures.—Reuters/AFP