Iraqi police said over 12 people were killed and up to 52 others wounded in a suicide car bomb attack in Baghdad on Wednesday.
It said the attack occurred in the afternoon when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a police checkpoint and blew it up in Kadhmiyah district in northern Baghdad.
It said the blast set fire on 15 cars and badly damaged many others, adding that most of the victims were civilians.
An eye witness, who preferred anonymity, said the toll could rise as ambulances, police and civilian vehicles were seeing evacuating casualties to different hospitals and medical centers in the city.
Iraq is witnessing some of its worst violence in recent years.
The UN assistance mission for Iraq said a total of 8,868 Iraqis, including 7,818 civilians and civilian police personnel, were killed in 2013.
It said this was the highest annual death toll in years.
