Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- At least 16 people died in a car bombing today outside Iraq's Interior Ministry in east Baghdad.

Among the 35 injured people were civilians, policemen and government officials, President Jalal Talabani's political party said on its Arabic-language Web site. A number of cars were destroyed in the blast, and the area was sealed off while causalities were taken to the nearby al-Jamala hospital, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said.

In the southern town of Diwaniyah, at least 40 people were killed and 70 wounded in clashes between Iraqi forces and members of the Mahdi Army, a Shiite Muslim militia, the PUK said. Agence France-Presse reported that the violence late yesterday broke out after a Mahdi Army leader was arrested by U.S. forces, citing an unidentified Iraqi army police captain.

Sectarian violence between the nation's Shiite and Sunni Muslim communities followed the bombing and partial destruction of the Shiite Golden Mosque in Samarra in February. General John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, said earlier this month escalating violence may lead to civil war.

The attack on the Interior Ministry today occurred before Interior Minister Jawad Bolani was due to hold a meeting with police chiefs from Iraq's 18 provinces, a day after insurgents killed 62 Iraqis in a series of attacks, according to AFP.

To contact the reporter on this story: Caroline Alexander in London at calexander1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 28, 2006 07:07 EDT