A car bomb in the Iraqi capital Baghdad near one of the city's most revered Sunni mosques killed at least 20 people and wounded dozens more, police said.

The bomb went off at 1400 (1000 GMT) in the Sinak commercial district on the eastern bank of the Tigris River.

At least two traffic policemen were among the injured and several civilian cars were damaged, the Associated Press quoted police as saying.

The bomb went off near the Sunni Abdul Qadir Gilani mosque.

The imam from the mosque appeared on local TV saying there was serious damage, including to the mosque's minaret.

"We feel sorry for myself and for all Iraqis. We must be patient in order not to give a opportunity to our enemies," Mohammed al-Issawi told state television, according to AFP news agency.

Ghaith Karim, 38, a cloth merchant who was traveling to a bus terminal near the site of the blast, told the AP he had heard the bomb go off.

"It was tremendous. I felt the ground was shaking," he said. "When I reached the scene, I found legs, charred pieces of bodies and pools of blood.

"Casualties were being evacuated by civilian cars. Firefighters battled to extinguish the fire."

A convoy carrying US state department officials was fired upon in the same area on Thursday, Reuters news agency reported.

Photo caption

Smoke from the explosion rose over the capital