Seven bombs have rocked Baghdad, killing at least 38 people, just hours after the Iraqi government met members of the international community in Brussels to seek reconstruction help.

Three bombs shook central Baghdad after dawn on Thursday, killing at least 15 people, injuring another 50 and sending smoke and flame above the main street of the popular Karrada shopping district, police said.

Hours earlier, a triple car bombing hit a mainly Shia district of the capital following a day of meetings in Brussels between the new Shia-led government, its US sponsors and other foreign powers.

Police said a car bomber killed three policemen and wounded two when he drove at their patrol in Karrada. Two other, apparently stationary, cars exploded in the same area within minutes, one close to a Shia mosque.

A Reuters Television cameraman saw at least three bodies being carried away from the scene of the attack on the police patrol.

The bombs were close to each other and went off a few minutes apart, shortly after 7am (0300 GMT).

The early hour may have reduced the toll, although figures from police were not immediately available.

Wednesday's attacks

Late Wednesday evening, a coordinated series of four car bombs had killed at least 23 people and wounded 48, including sidewalk diners and passengers at a bus station, in a mainly Shia district of the capital, the police said. 

In all, at least 32 people were killed on Wednesday across Iraq, including a prominent Sunni law professor assassinated by armed men.

Jassim al-Issawi was a former judge who put his name forward at one point to join the committee drafting Iraq's constitution.

The US military said three US soldiers were killed a day earlier during combat operations west of Baghdad near Ramadi.

Meanwhile, in Brussels, Belgium, an international conference adopted a declaration of support for the war-torn nation, backing the Iraqi government's "efforts to achieve a democratic, pluralist, federal and unified Iraq".

PHOTO CAPTION

Iraqis rush an injured man from the scene of a morning double car bomb in Baghdad, Iraq which killed at least 15 and wounded 28 more Thursday June 23, 2005. (AP)