BAGHDAD , Iraq ( CNN ) -- Three bombs Wednesday in Baghdad struck the convoy of the Polish ambassador to Iraq , wounding the diplomat and killing three others in the entourage , including one of his bodyguards , authorities said . Iraqi soldiers inspect the site of a Baghdad blast that injured the Polish ambassador Wednesday . In addition , the explosions killed two Iraqi civilians and wounded 11 others in the downtown Karrada neighborhood . The convoy 's three sport utility vehicles -- all bearing Polish flags -- were hit in the blasts , an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said . The ambassador , Gen. Edward Pietrzyk , was evacuated from the scene by a helicopter from Blackwater USA , the security firm that protects U.S. diplomats , a source told CNN . The deputy chief of the Polish mission said Pietrzyk was released Wednesday afternoon from a U.S. military hospital and was to be taken first to Ramstein Air Base in Germany and then to Poland for further treatment . Officials said the diplomat had a leg wound and suffered burns in the attack . Watch video from the scene of the attack » . The deputy said the U.S. military was handling the investigation . He said he was initially told two or three car bombs were involved . `` The terrorists opened fire after the bombing and our guys returned fire , '' he said . `` We expect the government of Iraq to find those responsible for this deliberate attack and punish them . '' Iraqi officials said the strike targeted the convoy , but it was unclear if it was an assassination attempt on Pietrzyk . But the deputy chief of mission was unequivocal , saying , `` In my view it was a deliberate attack to kill . '' The blasts were powerful : News footage showed the charred SUVs , a helicopter landing on a rubble-strewn street , heavily equipped soldiers escorting a bandaged man into the craft and a chopper flying away . After the blast , U.S. troops swiftly moved into the area and sealed it . The Americans assisted with evacuation and medical support , said Mirembe Nantongo , a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman in Iraq . Ryan C. Crocker , U.S. ambassador to Iraq , and Gen. David H. Petraeus , the top U.S. commander in the country , condemned the attack . `` Poland has been a strong and steadfast ally here and around the world , and we commend its commitment to a stable and secure Iraq , '' they said in a joint statement . Poland has had a strong presence in the U.S.-led coalition , and its military commands the Multi-National Division-Central South region . Warsaw has a contingent of about 900 troops in the country , according to the Brookings Institution 's Iraq Index . Twenty-one Polish troops have died in the Iraq war . In 2004 , insurgents attacked the Polish Embassy in Baghdad , but no one was injured . Also Wednesday , Adm. Michael Mullen landed in Baghdad after taking office this week as chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff , Pentagon officials said . Mullen will spend a week in Iraq and Afghanistan , officials said . Aides said the trip is aimed at giving Mullen an immediate assessment of the situation in both conflicts . In a message to U.S. troops after taking office Monday , he said , `` I know the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are taking a toll on you and your families . `` They are taking a toll on our equipment , our systems , and our ability to train as well . I worry , quite frankly , that they are taking a toll on our readiness for other threats in other places . '' Later on Wednesday at least three civilians were killed and seven others were wounded when mortars slammed into two residential neighborhoods in central Samarra , north of Baghdad , police said . The mortars appear to have been targeting a nearby Iraqi army base , police said . In a separate incident , in the town of Ishaqi , 50 miles ( 80 kilometers ) north of the capital , an Iraqi police officer was killed at noon Wednesday by unidentified gunmen as he was leaving the police station . Also , a car bomb explosion in an eastern Baghdad commercial district killed at least one Iraqi civilian and wounded four others Wednesday , an Interior Ministry official said . Meanwhile , a U.S. military commander in Iraq maintained Wednesday that a man arrested last month by American forces in the Iraqi Kurdish region is a key operative from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ' Quds Force . Maj. Gen Kevin Bergner dismissed Iranian claims the man is a businessman . Bergner said Mahmoud Farhady , arrested September 20 in Sulaimaniya , has been in charge of the Zafar Command , one of three units of the Ramazan Corps of the Quds Force . The U.S. military has accused Quds Force agents of training and equipping Iraqi insurgents , an allegation Iran repeatedly has denied . In Washington , Iraq 's national security adviser met with top Bush administration officials on Tuesday and Wednesday , according to one of his aides . Mowaffak al-Rubaie conferred with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday and was to meet with Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday , the aide said . Al-Rubaie and Rice discussed the training of Iraqi security forces , the role of private security companies and the Iraqi neighbors conference to be held in November . E-mail to a friend . CNN 's Jennifer Deaton , Jomana Karadsheh and Suzanne Simons contributed to this report .
NEW : Polish diplomat released from hospital , will be treated further in Samarra . Blast injures the envoy , Gen. Edward Pietrzyk , and kills Three . Car bombs in Baghdad neighborhood strike American convoy . New Joint Chiefs chairman begins weeklong visit to Afghanistan , Baghdad .