Baghdad and Basra were rocked Tuesday by a series of powerful explosions that claimed at least nine lives and injured dozens of people, authorities and media said.

At least seven civilians were killed and 25 wounded when two car bombs exploded Tuesday near a bank in Zayouna neighbourhood, eastern Baghdad, police said.

When the blast occurred dozens of elderly persons were at the bank to receive their monthly pensions. Several vehicles were torched after the explosive devices went off and windows of nearby buildings were shattered, witnesses said.

The area was cordoned off by security forces, as the injured were transported to local hospitals.

Another bomb attack targeting a police patrol injured six civilians and a police officer in the central neighbourhood of Karrada, security sources informed.

Two law enforcement officers were killed in Basra, 550 kilometres south of the capital, when a suicide attacker rammed his explosive laden into a police station, police said.

Twenty-seven policemen were also injured by the explosion, but the authorities did not reveal additional details.

Meanwhile, militants detonated an explosive charge placed under a natural gas pipeline near the northern city of Kirkuk early Tuesday. Security officials said a fierce fire erupted after the deflagration and dozens of firefighters were trying to contain the raging blaze.

Residents have been advised to stay indoors in order to avoid gas poisoning. Kirkuk is located in a region with vast reserves of natural resources and represents the centre of the northern Iraqi petroleum industry.

In other developments, Iraqi media said three civilians were killed by US soldiers on Monday near Tikrit, Salah ad Din province.
The Iraqis were allegedly shot dead by US troopers passing through the area in a vehicle, but neither the police of US military confirmed the incident occurred 170 kilometres north of Baghdad.

Late Monday, a suicide attacker detonated his explosive charge near a Shiite mosque in Baquba, killing 28 people and wounding 50 more.

The city’s police chief was among those killed by the powerful explosion. Local sources said other officials and prominent figures lost their lives or were injured when the fierce explosion ripped through a checkpoint located near the mosque where Muslims were breaking their daytime fast.