By DPA,
Baghdad : A series of explosions shook central Baghdad Wednesday morning, killing at least 10 people.
Two mortars landed inside the heavily protected Green Zone, the site of most foreign embassies, while a third landed just outside, the satellite news network al-Jazeera reported.
Soon after, a truck packed with explosives exploded near the finance ministry, destroying a nearby bridge, the satellite news channel al-Arabiya reported.
At least 10 people were killed in the attacks and 50 others were wounded, al-Jazeera reported. Soon after, al-Arabiya reported that 25 had been killed and 75 others wounded in the blasts, which blew out the windows of the nearby parliament building.
Smoke filled the air over the city centre, and emergency vehicles rushed to the scene.
Wednesday was the sixth anniversary of a powerful bomb attack at the UN headquarters in Baghdad’s Green Zone that killed some 22 people. That bombing was the first large attack after US-led forces invaded Iraq and toppled the government of Saddam Hussein.
In recent months, attacks near the Green Zone have become rarer, and security has improved across the country. According to al-Jazeera’s count, 275 people died in insurgent attacks in July, down from 437 the month before.