1 Killed, 33 Hurt in Iraq Car Bombings: Officials One policeman was killed and 33 people were wounded Sunday in car bombings in two major Iraqi cities, officials said, underlining the volatile security situation in the country. A car parked outside a police station in the northern city of Mosul exploded in the early evening, killing one policeman and injuring another, security officials said. Nine passers-by were wounded in the blast in a western neighborhood of Mosul, a former al-Qaida stronghold 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad. The casualties were confirmed by an official at the Mosul public hospital. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters. Security officials are a top target for Sunni insurgents seeking to undermine Iraq's Shiite-led government. Shiite shrines and pilgrims also are frequently targeted, as insurgents attempt to re-ignite sectarian fighting in Iraq. That happened again Sunday morning, when a parked car blew up in the holy Shiite city of Najaf. Authorities said the explosion took place about 700 meters (yards) from the gold-domed shrine to Imam Ali, one of the most revered figures in Shiism. Najaf health department spokesman Salim Naama said 23 people were hurt in the blast, four seriously. Najaf is located about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad. Violence in Iraq has dropped dramatically since the country threatened to fall into civil war between 2005 and 2008, but deadly attacks still happen nearly every day.