Car bomb in Baghdad kills at least nine

(Reuters) - A powerful car bomb exploded outside a Shi'ite administration office in central Baghdad on Monday, killing at least nine people and wounding around 40 more, hospital and police sources said.

The blast targeted the Shi'ite Endowment office - a government-run body that looks after Shi'ite religious sites - damaging its headquarters and a nearby health administration office, police said.

Violence in Iraq has ebbed, but Sunni Islamist insurgents tied to al Qaeda are still potent. They often attack Shi'ite targets to try to stir up the kind of sectarian tensions that pushed the country close to civil war in 2006-2007.

(Reporting by Baghdad newsroom; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Alessandra Rizzo)

BAGHDAD | Mon Jun 4, 2012 4:49am EDT

Posted in: al Qaeda, Baghdad, Car bomb, Iraq, Shia Islam