| At least 17 people have been killed and 40 wounded in a suspected car bomb blast in the Iraqi city of Hilla, south of Baghdad, a senior US-led coalition military spokesman says. "It is a suspected car bomb," said Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, the deputy director of coalition operations. "There are currently 17 dead and 40 wounded." Lieutenant Colonel Robert Strzelecki, spokesman for the Polish-led force that patrols the city, says the blast occurred at 8:45pm local time. The bomb exploded near the former Saddam mosque, named after the toppled Iraqi president. The blast comes four days before the scheduled handover of power from the coalition to a caretaker interim Iraqi Government. On Thursday, at least 100 people were killed in a wave of bombings and attacks throughout Iraq. |