Car bomb kills dozens; mystery blasts rock Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 39 people were killed Saturday when a car bomb exploded as they left a Sunni mosque in Habbaniya, Iraq, an Interior Ministry official said.

Also Saturday, only hours after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced "positive results" in Baghdad security, several strong blasts were heard in the capital.

The car bomb, which occurred about 40 miles west of Baghdad, wounded 61 people outside a mosque, a school and an Iraqi police station, according to Multi-National Forces-Iraq.

Medical personnel arrived to help and coalition forces were providing security and helping take the injured to medical facilities.

Local residents told The Associated Press the imam of the mosque had spoken out against extremists.

Also, according to AP, many who live in the neighborhood are employed by Iraqi military and police forces, who are frequently the targets of militant strikes.

The vehicle exploded as worshippers left the mosque's afternoon prayers, AP reported. It was filled with stone and plaster and other building materials. After the blast, U.S. soldiers joined other rescuers who pulled survivors from the rubble, AP reported.

U.S.-Iraqi operations
In Baghdad, the U.S. military attributed the mysterious explosions to "indirect fire," a reference to mortar or artillery fire. "We do not know where it is coming from," the military told CNN.

Gen. Qassim Moussawi, spokesman for Baghdad's ongoing U.S.-Iraqi military security plan, said he didn't know the cause behind the explosions, but confirmed that joint operations were being conducted in the southern part of the capital city.

Earlier Saturday, Prime Minister al-Maliki said the U.S.-Iraqi crackdown has dismantled terrorist cells and yielded the arrests and killing of hundreds of insurgents.

Al-Maliki spoke to reporters after a tour of the security plan command center. The prime minister said 426 suspected insurgents have been detained and roughly the same number killed.

Car bomb kills dozens; mystery blasts rock Baghdad - CNN.com