12 killed in bomb attacks across Baghdad

A suicide car bomber slammed into a police checkpoint in Baghdad on Wednesday, killing 11 people and injuring 24.

Four policemen were among those killed in Baghdad's Jadriyah district, and six were among the injured. Police kept the neighborhood cordoned for hours, and commuters passed by the wreckage on foot. Jadriyah is home to several prominent Iraqi politicians, including President Jalal Talabani, and to Baghdad University.

Another suicide car bombing killed one civilian and injured four in northeastern Baghdad, police said. The explosion set fire to six parked cars.

At least half a dozen other explosions were heard early Wednesday, some in the area of the Green Zone, where Iraq's parliament and the U.S. and British embassies are based.

The U.S. military said it had no information on the blasts.

In other violence, gunmen kidnapped six Sunni men at a fake checkpoint 15 miles south of Baghdad at dawn, police said. The men had driving to the capital to sell fruits and vegetables.

Police also said a Palestinian teacher was killed in a drive-by shooting Wednesday morning in eastern Baghdad.