BAGHDAD ? (UPDATE 2) A suicide bomber in a minibus killed two people on Sunday at an Iraqi defense ministry complex that three weeks ago was hit by a massive suicide attack that killed dozens, security officials said.

The bomber blew up his vehicle at the rear gate of the Rusafa Military Command headquarters in east Baghdad, security force spokesman Major General Qassim Atta said.

Eight people were also wounded, Atta and a defense ministry official added.

The 10:50 am (0750 GMT) blast sent plumes of smoke into the skies over the capital.
The large explosion was preceded by a smaller, almost simultaneous blast.

The Rusafa military headquarters was being used as an army recruitment center on August 17 when a suicide bomber detonated his payload, killing 59 people.

Sunday's explosion was the biggest to hit Baghdad since the recruitment center attack and it came four days after US forces officially changed their role in Iraq from a combat mission to "advise and assist" operations.

US Vice President Joe Biden launched the new mission when visiting Baghdad last week, opening up a fresh phase in a seven-year deployment that has cost the lives of more than 4,400 American troops.

He said in a speech on Wednesday that violence in Iraq was now at its lowest level since the war, but that same day official statistics said that 426 people were killed in unrest last month, underscoring insurgents' continuing ability to kill.