BAGHDAD - At least 27 people were killed and 51 others wounded on Thursday evening when a bomb struck a cafe in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, police said.

The bombing attack took place in Al Ameriyah neighborhood in west Baghdad, with children and women among those killed, a police source told Xinhua.

Violence has increased recently in the Iraqi cities as Iraqis are preparing for the provincial polls on Saturday to elect their provincial council members.