A suicide car bomber struck a U.S. patrol in the city of Baquba, tha capital of Diyala province on Thursday, killing at least a civilian and wounding two others, a provincial police source said.

The suicide bomber blew up an explosive-laden car near a U.S. military patrol near the al-Batool Hospital in eastern Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Two U.S. vehicles were damaged by the blast, the source said, but he could not tell whether the U.S. soldiers sustained any casualty as the troop immediately sealed off the scene.

The death toll among civilians from the suicide attack could rise, he said, adding that the powerful blast also caused damages to the hospital building.

The U.S. military has no immediate comment on the incident.

Diyala province stretches from the eastern edges of the capital to the Iranian border. It has long been a stronghold for al-Qaida militants and other insurgent groups since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 despite repeated U.S. and Iraqi military operations there.

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