A car bomb exploded today near a famous restaurant found in Shula, a poor Shiite area in Bagdad, which caused the death of 35 and left more than 72 injured.

The US Army said 13 people died, while the director of the hospitals in Bagdad estimated the figure at 26 and 38 injured, adding that there were women and children.

"The aggressors didn't have a military objective. They were all civilians and this is common. It shows the cowardice of the aggressors because attacking civilians does not demonstrate bravery," said Jalil al-Shimmari, director of the hospitals in the district of Bagdad.

Shula, located in north eastern Bagdad, was also the target of bombs on December 25, 2008, in attacks that caused the deaths of four people. Al Qaeda and other Sunni Islamic groups consider the Shiites as heretics and for a long time have been attacking their areas and festivals in Iraq.

A bomb explosion in the Shiite sanctuary of Askari in 2006 caused a wave of sectarian violence which only diminished last year.

In general terms, Iraqi security has improved since last year, but a series of bomb explosions this past April turned the month into one of the deadliest since last November.

The last large scale bomb attacks in Iraq were on April 29, when 51 people died due to a double attack in the Shiite district of Sadr City in Bagdad.

The recent attacks increased the questionings with regards to if Iraq can avoid further deaths, while the Army prepares to take more responsibility in terms of security as US troops prepare to retreat by the end of 2011.

Iraqi security forces issued a video on Monday in which they show a captured man saying he is the leader of the self proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq group, an organization linked with Al Qaeda and guilty for years of spilling blood in the country.

However, the group denied to provide information.