At least 10 killed in car bomb blast in Iraq's Diyala

At least 10 people were killed and some 30 others wounded on Monday in a car bomb explosion in the city of Baquba, the capital of Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a provincial security source told Xinhua.

The attack occurred on Monday evening when a booby-trapped car parking near a popular restaurant detonated in Shiftah area in eastern Baquba, some 65 km northeast of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The death toll could rise as ambulances, police and civilian vehicles were evacuating the victims to the nearby hospitals and medical centers, the source added.

Sectarian tension and reprisal killings have been running high during the past months between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the volatile province of Diyala, as Sunnis and Shiites accuse each other of supporting extremists and militiamen.

Diyala province which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border has long been a volatile area since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 despite repeated military operations against the militant groups.

Iraq is currently witnessing a wave of violence since the Islamic State took control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions in June 2014.

Earlier, a report by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq estimated that 741 Iraqis were killed and 1,374 others wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in April across Iraq.

Source: XINHUA