BAGHDAD, Oct. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- A car bomb exploded outside the Al-Arabiya TV's office in Baghdad on Saturday, killing seven peopleand injuring more than a dozen of others, said the TV channel andhospital sources.

    Police officer Ziad Tareq said at least seven people were killedand one of them was a woman. Doctors at the nearby Yarmuk Hospitalsaid they received more than 16 wounded.

    Al-Arabiya said all of the seven killed were workers with it's bureau, located in the wealthy Mansour neighborhood in western Baghdad, where senior Iraqi officials and foreign businessmen resided.

    The explosion, which took place around 15:10 p.m. (1210 GMT), started a fire and sent black smoke over the area, saw a Xinhua photographer.

    The fire was put off one hour later and about 30 vehicles were seen damaged. The facade of the office building was deformed and the site was bestrewn with glass and car parts.

    Three bodies were charred beyond recognition, according to the TV channel.

    A militant group identified as "1920 Brigades" claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack, said a statement attributed to the group. But its authenticity could not be verified. The group said it accused the "treacherous network" of taking a pro-American tone in its reporting and had kept warning it of possible attacks.

    Sabah Nayee, former Al-Arabiya Baghdad Bureau Chief, said he knew about the threat and his office could be the target, but believed that the pan-Arab satellite news network was doing right and maintained popularity in Iraq.

    He said a joint meeting was held inside the building attended by MBC and Saudi news provider Al-Ekhbariya at the time of explosion. But Nayee could not conclude if the attackers were aware of the meeting before unleashing the assault.

    The two companies were renting the building along with Al-Arabiya, who hired around 50 staff across Iraq.

    It appeared the first time a popular Arab language media was targeted in car bombings, favored by insurgents to wage attacks against US forces in Iraq and their cooperators. Based in Dubai and a sister news channel of Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiya has broadcast purported videos and statements from militant groups, including former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network. It was previously temporarily banned by the Iraqi authority from covering news out of Iraq.

    However, the Saudi-funded channel was known by Iraqis to be more cooprative with the interim government led by Iyad Allawi, especially after he visited Saudi Arabiya earlier this year. Enditem