At least five people were killed and 39 others wounded in a suicide car bomb attack outside a police checkpoint near the Iraqi interior ministry compound on Monday, a ministry source told Xinhua.
"The latest reports said five people were killed, including a policeman, and 39 people wounded by the suicide car bomb explosion outside the interior ministry compound," the source said on condition of anonymity.
Fourteen policemen were among the wounded, the source said.
The attack occurred at about 7:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a checkpoint on the main road leading to the interior ministry compound in eastern Baghdad and blew it up, the source added.
The powerful blast destroyed many cars in the area and several were badly charred as columns of black smoke were rising above the scene.
Iraqi security forces blocked the area as ambulances and civilian cars evacuated the victims to different hospitals and medical centers in the city, the source said.
Sporadic attacks, including suicide bombings, are common in Iraqi cities as the U.S. troops fully withdrew from the country according to a security pact signed between Baghdad and Washington late in 2008.