BAGHDAD, Nov 12: Eight people were killed in Baghdad on Saturday when a car bomb ripped through a market moments after UN chief Kofi Annan arrived in the Iraqi capital’s heavily fortified ‘green zone’.

“A car parked near a pharmacy suddenly blew up and we saw smoke and people started running,” witness Ali Saleh said. “Women were searching for their children. The shrapnel flew everywhere, the force of the blast was so strong.”

Another witness said many shops in the market were set on fire, with people trapped inside.

The latest attack came just two days after a suicide bomber killed dozens of people in a crowded restaurant in Baghdad known to be frequented by Iraqi security forces.

OPERATION: The US military pushed ahead with an anti-guerilla operation in western Iraq near the Syrian border which it says is aimed at driving out Al Qaeda militants and making the area safe for people to vote at the December elections.—Reuters