Two Iraqi children and their mother were killed by a bomb hidden in a radio apparatus in a town in Diyala province, a provincial security source said on Saturday.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon after the two children found the radio in a street and brought it to their mother in the town of Balad Ruz, 75 km northeast of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity, reproted Xinhua.
As soon as the mother turned the radio on it exploded immediately, killing her and her two children, the source said.
Iraqi security forces rushed to the scene and an investigation was underway, while ambulances were evacuating the victims to nearby hospitals, added the source.
According to the source, the armed groups which linked to the al-Qaida network in Iraq frequently devise new styles of killing people to arouse panic among Iraqi families.
Diyala province, which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border, has long been a stronghold for al- Qaida network in Iraq.
The U.S. and Iraqi security forces have been conducting major offensives against Sunni and Shiite militiamen in the province and some other provinces.