A car bomb has exploded in the town of Amiriya near the western Iraqi city of Falluja, killing nine people and wounding 31 others, a local official has said.

At least five of the dead were police, Sharqiya al-Isawi, the leader of Amiriya town council said.

A number of cars were set alight by the explosion.

It was the second bomb in Anbar province in as many days. On Monday, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a funeral in the western town of Haditha, killing up to six people.

Attacks common

Once the heartland of Sunni Arab opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq, Anbar province has calmed down since some influential tribes joined US troops to fight al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2007.

However, anti-government fighters have shown they are still capable of striking government targets with roadside bombs, shootings and suicide attacks remaining common.

Violent deaths in Iraq dropped by more than half in September compared to the previous month, official figures showed last week, with 203 people killed across the country.  

September's death toll was the lowest since May, when a total of 155 people were killed.