Car bomb attack kills four in Baghdad: spokesman

The blast took place in Karrada, a neighbourhood of the Iraqi capital that has been repeatedly targeted in recent years.

Interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said in a statement that the attack was carried out by a suicide car bomber and "killed four people, including a police lieutenant colonel."

Medical and police sources said at least another six people were wounded in the blast, which lit up the sky in the usually busy neighbourhood but struck a relatively quiet side street shortly before 11:00 pm (2000 GMT).

One of the deadliest bombings to hit Karrada occurred in July 2016, when a suicide truck bomb explosion set teeming shopping arcades ablaze and killed more than 320 people.

Nearly all suicide attacks are claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, which is defending its last major Iraqi bastion of Mosul against a massive operation launched by security forces last October.