At least two people were killed and up to 26 others wounded when a homemade bomb went off in a busy outdoor market in central Baghdad on Thursday, a well-informed Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

"A homemade bomb detonated at about 10:20 a.m. (0720 GMT) in the Souq al-Haraj outdoor market in Taiyaran Square, killing two people and wounding 26 others," the source said on condition of anonymity.

In a separate incident, two policemen were wounded when a car bomb parking at the entrance of Zaiyouna district in eastern Baghdad detonated, the source said.

Policemen were surrounding the scene when they suspected the car before the blast, but the car went off after they prevented people from approaching the scene.

Violence rages in Iraq as sectarian killings, car bombings, roadside bombs cause dozens of Iraqi casualties daily.

Source: Xinhua