Updated

Police and health officials say a bomb has exploded in a mainly Shiite area in Baghdad, killing two Iraqi civilians.

A police officer says the roadside bomb was planted on a highway in the eastern New Baghdad area. It exploded at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

He says four people were wounded, including two traffic policemen.

A doctor at the hospital where the wounded were taken confirmed the casualties.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information.

Violence in Iraq has ebbed since 2008 after a series of U.S.-backed offensives, but insurgents are still able to launch attacks.