Car bomb rocks Baghdad

Fires were raging near major oil wells in northern Iraq after attacks on a pipeline network halted vital exports from Kirkuk to Turkey, dealing a new setback to efforts bring in much-needed revenue for reconstruction.

Baghdad shook to the all-too familiar sound of a car bomb that injured at least nine people who had been waiting in cars at a checkpoint on the road to the international airport, medics said.

An all-terrain vehicle sped towards the crowded checkpoint but was halted by US and Iraqi soldiers standing guard, said a woman who was hurt in the blast.

"The suicide bomber detonated his vehicle as they approached," Hiba Hamid told AFP from hospital.

The attack followed a string of deadly bombings across the country on Tuesday that killed at least eight people and injured dozens of others.

In the latest hostage drama, a US-Lebanese man working for Iraq's transport ministry was kidnapped overnight from his house in the smart Baghdad neighbourhood of Mansour.

"Masked gunmen burst into his house as he was entertaining two doctor friends. They made off with him alone," said a police official.

The US embassy had no immediate information on the abduction but a spokesman said it was checking the reports. In Beirut, the Lebanese foreign ministry also said it had no confirmation but was checking with its embassy in Baghdad.

It is the third time that kidnappers have snatched foreign civilians from their home in this area of the capital within the last six weeks, and it is the second such attack in just 48 hours.

Another five Jordanians including four truck drivers were also reported kidnapped in Iraq, while the Philippines confirmed that one of its nationals was taken along with a Nepalese and a US citizen and several Iraqis in Baghdad.