Baghdad mortar barrage kills nine

At least nine people have been killed and some 40 wounded in a mortar bomb attack in southern Baghdad.

Several mortar bombs landed in the Doura neighbourhood of the Iraqi capital, police said.

The number of casualties are expected to rise, police sources were quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.

Doura is considered one of Baghdad's most dangerous areas. It has been the site of frequent bombings since the mainly Sunni insurgency began in 2003.

The same area came under a similar mortar attack on Wednesday, killing nine people and injuring 17, police said.

In other violence on Thursday, a bomb killed two Iraqis and wounded another 21, as they milled around hoping for construction work in a central Baghdad square, police said.