Two policemen were killed and 40 people wounded in roadside bomb attacks near a police patrol in a commercial area in southern Baghdad's Zaafraniyah neighborhood on Monday, an Interior Ministry source said.

"Several roadside bombs simultaneously detonated near a passing police patrol in the Zaafraniyah neighborhood, killing two policemen and wounding 10 policemen and 30 civilians," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, the source cited an initial report as saying that a roadside bomb went off near a police patrol, wounding three policemen aboard.

The coordinated bomb explosions occurred in a crowded market in the neighborhood and charred several nearby shops and civilian cars and police vehicles, the source said.

Meanwhile, a homemade bomb detonated inside a mini-van in Elwiyah area, part of Karradah neighborhood in central Baghdad, killing two people and wounding up to eight others, the source said.

In Mahmoudiyah, some 30 km south of Baghdad, a car parked at an auto repair market on the main road of the town detonated, killing two people and wounding two others, the source said.

Insurgent attacks continue in Baghdad and other cities despite a crackdown operation launched by U.S. and Iraqi troops to curb insurgency and sectarian violence in the war-torn country.

Source: Xinhua