Nine people were killed and 39 others injured in a bomb explosion in a cafe in southwest Baghdad Wednesday evening, a well-informed police source said, according to Xnhua.
The blast occurred at a cafe in the Shiite neighborhood of al- Shurta al-Rabia, which was crowded with people, including old men, who were gathering there to drink tea, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The bomb was apparently hidden in a bag brought in by an unidentified man who fled the scene before the blast, the source said.
Deadly attacks continue in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, raising fears that insurgents are stepping up high-profile attacks to shape setbacks to the Iraqi government ahead of the June 30 deadline for U.S. combat troops to pull out from Iraqi cities and town.