Baghdad: A tanker truck loaded with explosives blew up today (Dec 17, 2003) in a residential area of the Iraqi capital killing 12 people and wounding 15, Baghdad police director Hamid Sabah said.

"This was an act of terrorism, because there was no (military) target here," he said after the blast went off at 6:00 hrs local time (8.30 hrs IST) in the Al-Bayaa district in the Southwest of the capital.

Agencies