At least six people, including schoolchildren, were killed on Tuesday when a car bomb exploded near a police station in this flashpoint town west of Baghdad, an AFP correspondent at the scene reported.
The blast occurred when a pickup truck, belonging to Fao construction company, exploded at 1.15 pm (10.15am GMT) about 150m from the police station in Fallujah, 50km west of Baghdad, where American soldiers regularly come under attack.
At least six severely charred and mutilated bodies lay on the ground, and human fragments were found in the courtyard of a neighbouring school.
The blast, which also wounded several people, came one day after five suicide car bombings in Baghdad killed 43 and wounded more than 200.
Five United States military vehicles took position in the area of the blast.
Two men at the scene said they saw the explosive-laden vehicle parked outside the offices of a power company. They said no one was in the vehicle at the time, suggesting the charge was detonated by remote control.
”The pickup was parked at a busy taxi lot, but no driver was inside,” said Bilal Fawzi (29), who owns a nearby grocery store.
As ambulances raced to the scene, a number of people used their own cars to take the wounded to the local hospital.
Several people at the scene expressed outrage over the killings.
”This act is not directed against Americans, it killed innocent people,” said Fawzi.
Four vehicles, in addition to the one used in the bombing, were destroyed and three others damaged.
Fallujah and neighbouring areas west of Baghdad are frequently the scene of attacks against US forces. — Sapa-AFP