By HAMID AHMED, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD – A suicide bomber set off a blast among members of a police intelligence unit Wednesday, killing three people and leaving others wounded, officials said.

The attack in central Baghdad follows a series of roadside bombings targeting Iraqi and U.S. patrols in recent weeks in the capital, although overall violence around the country is down sharply.

The suicide blast struck nightshift employees shortly after they left work. They were standing near a restaurant in the Karradah neighborhood, said an aide to Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Mousawi, the Iraqi military spokesman. The aide said three people were killed and four were wounded.

Police and hospital officials confirmed the death count but said 11 people were wounded, including three civilians. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information.

Witnesses told police the bomber was walking among the employees shortly after 10 a.m. when he triggered a belt packed with explosives.

The U.S. military said an American patrol received reports that a suicide bomber attacked a group of Interior Ministry employees who were waiting to go on leave. Maj. David Shoupe, a military spokesman, put the initial death toll at two.

Conflicting casualty information is common in Iraq in the aftermath of an attack.

A taxi driver, Salam Ali, 40, said security officials often have breakfast at the restaurant where the attack occurred.

"I saw human flesh on the ground mixed with blood. It was an awful scene," he said.

In southern Iraq, one of Iran's most powerful political and religious figures, former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani, made a trip to the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of the capital.

Karbala is home to a shrine to Hussein, one of Shiite Islam's most revered saints.

Rafsanjani arrived in Iraq on Monday for talks with government and religious officials.