BAGHDAD, Dec 5 (Reuters) - At least five people were killed in a car bomb attack near a mosque on a busy street in central Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.

Fourteen people were also wounded in the attack in a street full of shops in Baghdad's Karrada district. A civil defence official said the death toll could rise further.

Bursts of gunfire could be heard after the blast and Reuters witnesses reported seeing thick plumes of black smoke rising from the area.

Violence across Iraq has fallen to the lowest levels in almost two years after a "surge" of 30,000 extra U.S. troops, but U.S. commanders warn the threat of attacks by Sunni Islamist al Qaeda or Shi'ite militias remains high.

(Writing by Paul Tait; Editing by Peter Graff)

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