At least nine people have been killed in an ambush on a bus carrying workers to Baghdad airport, medics said.

Reports of the death toll vary, with one news agency putting the number of dead at 15. At least 11 people were also injured in the attack.

Victims were mainly Shia Muslims from the Sadr City area. They were attacked outside the airport's main checkpoint.

Meanwhile, Iraq's defense ministry said it killed 23 suspected insurgents, with almost 60 suspects killed in 48 hours.

Thirty people were killed on Saturday, the first day of a new push against insurgents in Baghdad.

Dangerous road

The bus heading to Baghdad airport was carrying cleaners and other workers when it was attacked, reports said.

The road between the city and the airport to the west has long been one of the most dangerous in Iraq.

The airport also houses the main US military base for Baghdad.

The attack comes two days after the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki announced a new strategy to deal with the armed groups carrying out attacks and sectarian killings.

Elsewhere in the capital a roadside bomb injured three policemen in south-east Baghdad, police said.

Photo caption

Bus attacked in way to Baghdad airport