Five killed, 25 wounded in Iraq blast

The attack took place in the morning when a suicide bomber blew up an explosive-laden car into the entrance of a police headquarters in al-Ashar district in central Basra and blew it up, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Iraqi security forces guarding a checkpoint outside the compound opened fire on the attacker forcing him to detonate his vehicle, the source said.

The toll could rise as many ambulances, police and civilian vehicles evacuated the victims to the city hospitals, the source added.

Violence and sporadic high-profile attacks are still common in Iraq underlining the challenges that the Iraqi security forces are facing as they struggle to restore stability and normalcy in Iraqi cities about seven months before the departure of all American forces by the end of 2011.