BAGHDAD, (Reuters) – A parked car bomb in central Baghdad killed 10 people and wounded 66 on Friday, police said.

Reuters witnesses saw a cloud of smoke rising over the area at a busy traffic intersection on the east side of the Tigris river in the centre of the Iraqi capital.

The bomb struck while many in the capital were attending Friday prayers. Police said the victims were civilians. At least one woman and one child were among the dead.

Overall violence in Iraq has fallen in recent months, but attacks still persist against civilians, Iraqi and U.S. troops and neighbourhood patrols recruited to fight militants.