Baghdad blast kills three

A double bomb attack near a Shiite shrine and close to a major army base in central Baghdad killed at least three people and wounded dozens on Saturday, security and health officials said.

A double bomb attack near a Shiite shrine and close to a major army base in central Baghdad killed at least three people and wounded dozens on Saturday, security and health officials said.

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A bomb in a parked car exploded close to the shrine and next to the former site of the country's defence ministry, an interior ministry official said, giving the death toll. A second explosion occurred nearby in the area which is also close to the Iraqi health ministry, he said.

An official at Medical City Hospital in the capital said 35 people were being treated for injuries.

The interior ministry official the explosion was in an area between the health ministry and the military base where major construction work is going on.

Plumes of black smoke enveloped the site in the immediate aftermath of the explosion.

The blast followed several deadly incidents across Iraq this week, including a suicide attack on a security checkpoint in the western city of Ramadi, a former Al-Qaida hotspot, and a truck bombing in a northern Kurd village.