Two Britons have been injured in a bomb blast in a crowded restaurant in Baghdad, according to Iraqi police.

Five people died and 24 were injured at the New Year’s Eve party as a car bomb devastated the Nabil restaurant, a popular venue for foreigners.

Overall, 21 Iraqis, three American journalists from the Los Angeles Times and two Britons were injured, according to the Associated Press.

Gunfire was reportedly heard after the explosion.

The restaurant is in the Karrada district of the capital, an area hit by two roadside bombs in the past four days, killing three Iraqis, two of them children.

About 11,000 Iraqi police officers were deployed in the capital on New Year’s Eve.