BAGHDAD, Iraq - A bomb struck a small bus in Baghdad as it headed to a predominantly Shiite area on Sunday, killing six passengers and wounding 10, police said.

Iraqi police and fire fighters hose a mini bus blown up in central Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday Jan 21, 2007. A bomb struck a small bus headed to a predominantly Shiite area in Baghdad on Sunday, killing six passengers and wounding 10, police said. [AP]

The bus was en route from the Bab al-Sharqi area to the central commercial district of Karradah when the explosion occurred at 8:15 a.m., shattering the windows of nearby stores.

The bomb was left in a bag by somebody who got off the bus, police said.

Sirens wailed as police and ambulances rushed to the area, and rescue workers pulled the badly burned bodies from the charred bus.

Faris Mahdi, who works at a cell phone store near the site of the blast, said he and his colleagues tried to help the victims.

"We had just arrived to open our shop when we heard the sound of a big explosion and saw a fire in a small bus," said Mahdi, 36. "We ran because the ambulances hadn't arrived yet. We pulled out three charred bodies, and badly injured people were taken to the hospital by a pickup car."

About 45 minutes later, a parked car bomb exploded outside a restaurant in eastern Baghdad, wounding six people, according to police.