Nine people were killed in an explosion outside a Jordanian embassy building in Baghdad on Thursday in a suspected truck bomb attack, a US officer at the scene said.

Captain Robert Ramsey of the 1st Armored Division said a truck exploded outside the building at around 11 a.m. local time (3 a.m. EDT).

The blast destroyed several vehicles outside but there was no sign of significant damage to the embassy itself.

Many embassies in Baghdad are empty, as the US-led administration has not accredited foreign diplomats.

Local resident Muhsin Abdul Ameer said 12 people had been taken to hospital from the scene. It was not clear whether they were wounded or dead.

The blast comes a week after Jordan announced it had granted asylum to Saddam Hussein's elder daughters Raghd and Rana and their children.

Some supporters of Saddam regarded Jordan as an ally of Washington and felt betrayed by a lack of support from Amman during the US-led invasion.

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