A car bomb on Sunday went off at a market close to a police station in the Shiite-dominant Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, killing at least nine, the local police said.

"A explosive-packed car targeted both police and civilians went off at 9:20 a.m. (0520 GMT) in Jamila neighborhood, close to the Shiite slum of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad," an police officer said on condition of anonymity.

"The initial report said nine Iraqis were killed and 25 others wounded, but the death toll could be rising," the officer added.

Sectarian tension and insurgency have mounted in Baghdad and some other cities despite the formation of a new unity government in the war-torn country in late May.

Source: Xinhua