Baghdad: A car bomb exploded today (Jan 31, 2004) in front of a police station in Iraq's third largest city, Mosul, killing at least nine people and injuring 45, witnesses and hospital staff said.

Witnesses saw severed limbs and decapitated bodies in the bloodied street in front of the police station. Windows of buildings were shattered and plumes of smoke could be seen in the area.

Staff at the Republican Hospital in Mosul said nine people including civilians and policemen were killed and 45 others were injured.

Some witnesses, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it appeared that a car drove through a security barricade in front of the police station before exploding. This could not be independently confirmed.

One policeman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the blast was so powerful that there were casualties even inside the police station building.

The police station is next to the University of Mosul campus. Mosul is about 365 kms Northwest of Baghdad.