A suicide car bomber struck police checkpoint on Monday outside the city of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, killing seven people and wounding 18 others, an Interior Ministry source said.

Local residents gather around the debris of a vehicle used in a car bomb attack in Ramadi, some 110 km west of Baghdad September 7, 2009. A suicide car bomber struck police checkpoint on Monday outside the city of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, killing seven people and wounding 18 others, an Interior Ministry source said. [Xinhua/Reuters Photo]

The attack took place in the morning when the bomber drove his explosive-laden car into the checkpoint at the highway just outside Ramadi, some 110 km west of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Three policemen were among the deaths and several others were among the wounded, the source said.

Local residents look at destroyed vehicles after a car bomb attack in Ramadi, some 110 km west of Baghdad September 7, 2009. A suicide car bomber struck police checkpoint on Monday outside the city of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, killing seven people and wounding 18 others, an Interior Ministry source said.[Xinhua/Reuters Photo]

The bomber's car was among many civilian cars trying to cross the checkpoint, he said, adding that several nearby cars were destroyed and damaged by the blast.

Many women and children were among the casualty, the source added.

The once volatile province of Anbar has been relatively calm for more than two years after Sunni tribes and anti-U.S. insurgent groups turned to cooperate with the U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces against al-Qaida in Iraq network.

Local residents look at destroyed vehicles after a car bomb attack in Ramadi, some 110 km west of Baghdad September 7, 2009. A suicide car bomber struck police checkpoint on Monday outside the city of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, killing seven people and wounding 18 others, an Interior Ministry source said.[Xinhua/Reuters Photo]

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2009)