A suicide car bomb blast struck the house of a police commandos officer in the Iraqi city of Samarra on Saturday, killing nine people and wounding 16 others, police said.

"The attack took place at 4:00 p.m. (1200 GMT) when a suicide car bomber drove an explosive-laden vehicle into the house of MajorShaker Muhmoud al-Saub, an officer of the Iraqi police commandos inSamarra," a source from Samarra police said on condition of anonymity.

It was not clear whether Muhmoud was in the house during the attack, the source said.

The casualties were all civilians, he said, adding they were evacuated to the Samarra Hospital.

US and Iraqi security forces had cordoned off the scene and weresearching the surrounding area, he added.

Samarra, some 120 km north of Baghdad, has been a hotbed of insurgency against the US troops and Iraqi security forces, which are seen by the insurgents as collaborating with the Shiite-led government that took office on April 28 and the United States.

Source: Xinhua