By Xinhua,
Baghdad: At least 19 people were killed and 81 injured in three car bomb attacks in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi Sunday, an official said.
In the first incident, two explosives-laden cars parked outside the compound of the Anbar provincial council building were detonated in quick succession, killing 17 people, including seven policemen, and wounding 77, an official said requesting anonymity.
At the time of the blasts, provincial officials and tribal leaders were holding talks in the building. Ramadi is the capital of Anbar province, some 110 km west of Baghdad.
More than 30 cars that were close to the site caught fire after the explosions, he said.
Afterwards, a suicide bomber drove a car to a city hospital and detonated the explosives when police tried to stop the vehicle at a checkpoint outside the building.
Two policemen were killed and four wounded in the blast.
The bomber was apparently targeting the victims of the first two explosions who were brought to the hospital, the official said.
Eighty percent of the wounded were policemen, the source from the interior ministry said.
Meanwhile, the authorities have announced a reward of 10 million Iraqi dinars (about $9,000) for information leading to the capture of the accused involved in the case.
The government has also imposed a curfew in the city and additional security personnel were deployed on the streets to maintain law and order.
The province was once a stronghold of Al Qaeda militants in the country.