Two blasts have rocked separate areas of central Baghdad, with one car bomb explosion near the Green Zone killing at least 10 people and wounding over 70. A second blast, about 30 minutes later, shook buildings in the centre of the city and sent thick clouds of black smoke pouring into the air above one of several hotels used by foreign contractors and workers. In the first attack, witnesses said a car raced towards one of several entrances to the Green Zone, home to the Iraqi interim government, but detonated before reaching the gate, exploding near a recruitment post for the US-established Iraqi national guards. A doctor at nearby Yarmuk hospital said eight people were killed and 30 wounded in the explosion, several of them civilians who were passing by when the bomb went off. In the second explosion, on the other side of the Tigris river on one of Baghdad's main streets, a large bomb detonated as a convoy of US military vehicles was passing, witnesses said. The explosion took place in front of the Baghdad Hotel, a building used by US contractors and government personnel. There were no immediate reports of any dead or wounded from the second blast site. US forces sealed off the area and helicopters hovered overhead. **Falluja strikes*** Overnight, the US military continued its offensive on Falluja, carrying out another wave of air strikes. A strike in the central Jumhuriya area killed nine people, including three women and four children, said Dr Adil Khamis of Falluja general hospital. Twelve were injured, including six women and three children, he said. They included residents of neighbouring houses that were damaged in the attack. An Iraqi journalist, Abu Bakr al-Dulaimi told Aljazeera that nine people had been killed. He said the two targeted homes were completely destroyed and two nearby houses damaged. The reporter described Falluja as almost paralysed, with shops and schools closed. At dawn American warplanes unleashed strikes on two houses in Falluja, killing at least 11 people, including women and children. The US military again said the strikes targeted followers of al-Qaida-linked Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and their associates. The strike in the city's southern al-Shuhada neighbourhood killed two people. It was the latest in weeks of air strikes on the city west of Baghdad which has left scores of Iraqi civilians dead **PHOTO CAPTION*** A foreign national is evacuated soon after a car bomb ripped through Saadoun street in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday Oct. 4, 2004. (AP)