Mortar attack hits Baghdad street

Debris was scattered around the busy commercial area

At least six people have been killed and more than 30 wounded in a mortar attack blast in central Baghdad.

The explosion happened in the crowded al-Rashid street, engulfing the heart of the city's business district in thick black smoke.

At least one building and five cars were badly damaged in the attack.

The deaths come as delegates from all over Iraq opened a third day of talks to elect an interim council that will lead Iraq until elections next year.

"At first we thought it was a car bomb, because one building was very badly damaged, but ballistic experts have concluded it was a mortar bomb," said an interior ministry official.

Casualties were taken to Baghdad's Medical City complex, where officials said one woman and two children were among the dead.

Some of the dead were burnt beyond recognition, medical officials said.

One report said two mortar shells struck the al-Rashid business district while a third landed close to the convention centre where the delegates were meeting.

Insurgents fired several mortar shells near the convention centre on Sunday as the conference opened, killing two people.