Two policemen were killed and 25 people injured in two bomb explosions in Baghdad on Thursday, an Interior Ministry source said.

An explosive charge hidden in a garbage container detonated outside the Ma'moon police station in western Baghdad and killed two policemen and wounded 12 others, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Eight civilians were also wounded by the blast which caused damages to the police station and nearby civilian cars and buildings, the source said.

In a separate incident, a roadside bomb went off near a police patrol in Baghdad's southeastern neighborhood of Zaafaraniyah, damaging a police vehicle and wounding three policemen aboard, the source added.

Two civilians were also wounded and several nearby civilian cars damaged, he said.

Also in the day, a suicide bomber struck a crowd of anti-Qaida group members at a military base in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, killing seven members and an Iraqi army soldier, along with wounding seven group members.

A local police source told Xinhua that a suicide bomber blew himself up among Awakening Council group members who were gathering to collect salaries in a military base in the city, come250 km north of Baghdad.

The suicide bomber disguised in the uniform of the group members, the source said.

Meanwhile, the source said that the death toll from a car bomb explosion near a popular restaurant in the Shualaa neighborhood on Wednesday evening, rose to 40 and 83 people injured.

Late on Wednesday, the police put the toll at 34 people killed and 72 others injured by the blast that also destroyed at least 10nearby civilian cars and several shops close to the restaurant.

Despite the security gains in recent months in Iraq, there are still sporadic bombings, which shape setback to the Iraqi government.

A series of deadly bombings struck Iraqi cities recently, raising fears that Iraq could again return to earlier stages of chaos and bloodshed.

The recent bombings targeted U.S. soldiers, Iraqi security forces and civilians in the areas of Baghdad and several other provinces, claiming the lives of hundreds of Iraqis, along with U.S. soldiers.

At least 355 Iraqis were killed in April, making it the bloodiest month this year.

Source:Xinhua