BAQUBA: A car bomb exploded in a busy market in Baquba northeast of Baghdad on Monday, killing six people, including two girls under four, and wounding 20, police said, adding most of the casualties were children.
The bomb went off after police arrived in the market to check on a separate incident in which one person had been killed. Five policemen were wounded, police said.
The blast destroyed food stalls and shops in the market, which was busy with women and children. Police and firefighters rushed to the scene.
The religiously mixed city of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, has been the scene of several sectarian attacks since a bomb destroyed a Shi'ite shrine on Feb. 22 in Samarra, sparking violence that has killed hundreds across Iraq.
Sunni insurgents battling the Shi'ite-led government frequently launch attacks against the US-trained security forces.
