Explosion rocks Baghdad’s Green Zone

A bomb has exploded near the prime minister’s office in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone as the Iraqi capital witnesses a rise in deadly violence.

The incident occurred when a bomber detonated his explosive-laden vehicle on Monday morning, leaving at least five people wounded, AFP reported.

The blast comes a day after a string of bomb attacks across Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul killed nine people and wounded at least 24 others, security officials said.

US and Iraqi officials have warned of a hike in violence as negotiations on forming a new governing coalition have dragged on, giving militants the opportunity to step up their terrorist attacks in the war-torn country.

Four months into the March 7 general elections, which gave no single bloc an outright majority in Iraq’s 325-member parliament, the two major rival blocs — incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law coalition and former Premier Iyad Allawi’s al-Iraqiya alliance — have not yet agreed on who should be the next prime minister.