Two almost simultaneous suicide car bomb blasts have rocked Baghdad.
The first bomb exploded close to the Australian embassy in the central of the city, reportedly killing one person and injuring several others.
A second blast about 30 minutes later targeted a police station in an eastern district of the Iraqi capital, causing several casualties.
Rebels have mounted a series of &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/war/2003/03/22/44828.html ' target=_blank>deadly attacks across Iraq ahead of elections due on 30 January, tells BBC News.
According to ABC Online, a suicide car bomb exploded close to the Australian embassy and Australian military barracks in central Baghdad today, killing at least two Iraqis and wounding at least seven others.
About 25 minutes later, another car bomb exploded in north-central Baghdad, killing six people.
The first bomb exploded outside an Australian military barracks, a seven-floor building across the street from the embassy.
No staff from the embassy, nor troops guarding it, were hurt in the attack.
Witnesses said a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives outside the Australian military detachment which guards the embassy in the Baghdad suburb of &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/93/375/9684_iraq.html ' target=_blank>Karrada.
The huge explosion sent a thick plume of smoke into the air and within minutes US troops sealed off the area.
The blast killed at least two Iraqis, one of them a sanitation worker who had just stepped out of his truck.
The &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/2001/07/02/9110.html ' target=_blank>Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) said all embassy staff and &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/2003/01/13/41933.html ' target=_blank>Australian troops guarding the compound had been accounted for and none were injured.
Join Pravda.ru forum to experience freedom of speech