Car bomb attack on Aust embassy in Baghdad

A car bomb has exploded outside the cement blast barriers of the Australian Embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday, witnesses say.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

The blast rocked the capital around 7:00am (1500 AEDT) and was followed about a half hour later by another explosion, which sent a column of black smoke rising above the eastern part of the city. There was no word on what caused that blast.

Officials at the Australian Embassy could not immediately be reached.

The embassy is located in Baghdad's central Jadiriyah neighbourhood