A huge explosion caused by a suicide car bombing jolted the Green Zone in central Baghdad on Monday, injuring at least 10 people, police said.

The blast took place at about 8:45 a.m. (0545 GMT), when a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the checkpoint guarding the entrance of a street leading to Iraqi PrimeMinister Iyad Allawi's party offices in the capital and blew himself up.

Among the injured were eight policemen and two civilians, policeadded.

A big column of thick smoke could be seen rising above the area near the Green Zone that houses the interim Iraqi government and the US embassy.

On Jan. 3, a suicide car bomber killed three people in an attackon the same checkpoint.