A suicide car bomber detonated inside a busy commercial district Monday, killing at least 28 people and injuring over 60, media reports said.

Earlier, an anonymous Interior Ministry source revealed to Xinhua that 18 people were killed and some 62 others wounded in the blast.

A booby-trapped car went off around midday in Baghdad's most attractive market place, the Mutanabi book market, where dozens of book stores and salesmen show off their literary wares.

Witnesses on the scene said that human remains and remnants of books were scattered in the street following the explosion as columns of smoke rose above the area.

Of late, insurgents have targeted Iraqi security forces trying to halt the all-out offensive ongoing in Baghdad and other cities aimed at curbing rising violence in the war-torn country.

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2007)