At least three people were killed and 11 others wounded on Monday in a car bomb attack at a crowded neighborhood in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a police source told Xinhua.

The attack occurred late on Monday night when a booby-trapped car detonated near a hospital at a busy thoroughfare in Karrada neighborhood in southern central Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The blast destroyed several nearby shops and many stalls, along with destroying several civilian cars, the source said.

Iraqi security forces sealed off the area and blocked the roads leading to the scene, while ambulances and police vehicles evacuated the killed and wounded people to the city hospitals, the source added.

In early July, Karrada was the scene of massive bombing that killed and wounded hundreds of people and huge fires in several nearby commercial buildings.

Iraq has witnessed worsening violence since the Islamic State (IS) group took control of parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014.

Terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts killed 691 Iraqis and wounded 1,016 others in August across Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said on Thursday.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the United State, who invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003.

Source : XINHUA