Baghdad, Aug 2 (DPA) At least seven people were killed and 20 wounded Sunday when a powerful car bomb exploded in a crowded market in the western Iraqi province of al-Anbar, medical staff said.

The bombing targeted a market in the predominantly Sunni town of al-Haditha, roughly 250 kilometres north-east of Baghdad.

Four of the wounded were in critical condition, Walid al-Obeidi, manager of the al-Haditha General Hospital, told DPA.

The blast ripped the facades off nearby houses and shops, police in al-Haditha said, adding that they had imposed a vehicle ban in the area in an effort to prevent further attacks.

Earlier Sunday, in the central town of Hilla, a bomb exploded at the regional office of Speaker of the Parliament Mahmoud al-Mahshadani's Islah Party, one of Iraq's leading Sunni parties.