Four people have been killed and more than a dozen wounded in a bomb attack on the office of the Arabic-language satellite news channel al-Arabiya in Baghdad.
The incident occurred on Monday morning when a bomber detonated his explosive-laden vehicle in front of the Dubai-based channel's office, the Washington Post reported.
Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said three guards and a cleaning woman were killed in the blast that left another 10 injured, blaming the terrorist act on al-Qaeda militants.
Quoting anonymous officials in Iraq's interior ministry, a report by AFP, however, put the casualties at three killed and at least 16 wounded.
Moussawi said Iraqi officials had previously discovered al-Qaeda documents indicating militants' plans to attack Arab news channels in the country. He said the channel was informed.
Al-Arabiya correspondent Tarek Maher said he was in the office when the blast occurred, adding the building was heavily damaged and the explosion left a massive crater.
In June, the Saudi-funded al-Arabiya closed its Baghdad office, citing government warnings of a threat of militant attack.
The blast comes a day after a string of bomb attacks across Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul killed nine people and wounded at least 24 others, security officials said.
US and Iraqi officials have warned of a hike in violence as negotiations on forming a new governing coalition have dragged on, giving militants the opportunity to step up their terrorist attacks in the war-torn country.
Four months into the March 7 general elections, which gave no single bloc an outright majority in Iraq's 325-member parliament, major rival blocs are still bickering over who should be the next prime minister.
MRS/MRS
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