The AP reports:

A roadside bomb exploded Monday morning next to a French Embassy convoy traveling through downtown Baghdad, wounding seven people, Iraqi officials said.

A police officer said the bomb which was exploded at about 8:30 a.m. lightly damaged one of the three armored SUVs in the capital's commercial Karrada area.

Four Iraqi guards working for a private security company employed by the embassy and three civilian bystanders were wounded, the officer said. It was not immediately known whether any French expatriate staff were in the convoy when the bomb exploded.

Monday's attack was part of a series attacks launched by militants in the capital during the rush hour.