Dozens of people were believed killed and wounded Wednesday in a powerful car bomb explosion outside the police headquarters in the city of Kut, the capital of Wasit province, 170 km southeast of Baghdad, a provincial police source said. The blast took place at about 10:00 a.m. (0700 GMT) when an explosive-packed vehicle parking in front of the city police headquarters detonated, destroying the headquarters' building and a nearby government building, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. There is no immediate reports on casualties, but the figure was estimated at dozens as the police building totally collapsed and buried an undetermined number of people inside. Nearby buildings were also severely damaged, the source added. Dozens of ambulances and civilian cars were rushing victims to hospitals. The Iraqi security forces sealed off the scene and the city authorities blocked Kut City. Earlier in the day, a series of car bomb attacks struck cities of Baghdad, Basra and Ramadi in apparently coordinated attacks against the Iraqi security forces, killing at least 19 people and wounding some 97 others. Five months after violence-torn Iraq held parliamentary elections, violence and sporadic high-profile attacks are still common in Iraqi cities which shaped a setback to the Iraqi government's efforts to restore normality. U.S. forces have pulled out of Iraqi cities and are working to formally end combat operations by Sept. 1, cutting the U.S. military force from just under 90,000 to 50,000. However, local analysts worry about whether the Iraqi forces are ready to replace the American soldiers amid continued insurgent attacks. 