伊拉克当局说,巴格达市中心发生自杀式汽车炸弹袭击,炸死至少18人,炸伤80人。爆炸目标是一家警察罪案实验室。

警方说,星期二发生的爆炸导致卡拉达地区的政府法医办公室受到严重破坏。

官员说,许多在爆炸中丧生或受伤的人很可能是警察。

爆炸发生前一天,自杀炸弹者袭击了三家外国人聚集的巴格达酒店,导致至少36人死亡,71人受伤。

伊拉克官员说,袭击者驾驶装满炸药的汽车在巴格达喜来登、巴比伦和爱尔哈姆拉酒店外接连引爆炸弹。

伊拉克当局担心,叛乱分子可能会高调发动袭击,破坏定于3月7日举行的全国议会选举。

自8月以来,巴格达发生的连环爆炸袭击已经导致数百人死亡。

Iraqi authorities say a suicide car bomb attack has killed at least 18 people and wounded 80 others in a strike against a police crime lab in central Baghdad.

Police say the bomb exploded Tuesday, causing major damage to the government forensics office in the Karrada neighborhood.

Officials said many of those killed or wounded in the attack were likely police officers.

The blast comes a day after suicide bombers attacked three Baghdad hotels popular with foreigners, killing at least 36 people and wounding 71 others.

Officials said attackers detonated vehicles packed with explosives in quick succession Monday outside Baghdad’s Ishtar Sheraton, al-Hamra and Babylon hotels.

Iraqi authorities had expressed concern that insurgents could stage high-profile attacks to disrupt national parliamentary elections scheduled for March 7.

Coordinated bombing attacks in Baghdad have killed hundreds of people since August.