A suicide car bomber detonated an explosion near a US patrol today, injuring two Iraqi policemen and two US soldiers along the main highway leading to Baghdad's international airport, according to US and Iraqi officials.
The car bomb exploded near a US military convoy and US officials have sealed off the area, according to a spokesman.
Two mortar rounds had landed near the same area about 20 minutes earlier, he said.
A US Army captain on the scene said the explosives-laden vehicle had pulled up next to a US patrol before detonating, killing the suicide bomber. Two US soldiers had minor injuries, he said.
Hospital officials said two policemen were also injured in the incident along the stretch of road that is the site of frequent attacks against US troops and their supply convoys.
The explosion left a huge crater in the ground and car parts strewn in the area.
The US State Department has described the airport road as among Iraq's most dangerous.