Relatives discovered the body of a kidnapped Iraqi policeman on Thursday, but it was rigged with explosives and blew up, killing his father and brother, police and a doctor said.

Relatives discovered the body of a kidnapped Iraqi policeman on Thursday, but it was rigged with explosives and blew up, killing his father and brother, police and a doctor said.

The policeman was kidnapped in a village near Sharqat, northwest of Baghdad, the previous day. The blast also wounded a second brother.

Militants in Iraq generally carry out car bombings or bury devices in or near roads, but more rarely rig bodies and even animals such as donkeys with explosives for use in attacks.

Elsewhere on Thursday, a car bomb exploded in northern Baghdad, killing two people and wounding at least eight, officials said.

More than 3,100 people have been killed already this year, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.