Car bomb kills seven, wounds 20 in central Iraq: police

A bomb in a parked car killed seven people and wounded 20 on Friday when it exploded in the central Iraqi city of Ramadi, police and hospital sources.

The explosion in Ramadi, 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Baghdad, killed mostly women in a residential area, the sources said.

"We heard a big explosion and when we arrived at the scene found a car parked in the fire," said a police officer.

"The bodies were scattered everywhere and some houses were destroyed," he said, declining to be identified. He said police had begun to evacuate the wounded and cordoned off the area in case of explosions.

Five of the injured were in critical condition, a hospital source said.

Despite the violence in Iraq has declined since its peak in 2006-07, last month at least 237 people died and 603 were injured in the attacks, making it one of the bloodiest months since American troops withdrew late last year.