Blasts rock Baghdad after deadly night of violence

BAGHDAD, Mar 12 (Reuters) A series of blasts rocked Baghdad today morning, killing at least two people and wounding 11, after a night of violence in the capital in which a major hospital reported 20 people killed in separate incidents.

Officials at Yarmouk Hospital, one of Baghdad's biggest, said they had received at least 20 bodies overnight, all victims of violence. Most had been shot.

A mortar hit a paint supply shop in central Baghdad today, killing two and wounding at least four. Another mortar bomb hit a house in the capital's eastern Jamila district, wounding two.

A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol exploded in Mustansiriya square in eastern Baghdad, wounding five soldiers, police said.

Four mortar bombs landed in Zafaraniya district in southern Baghdad, police said, adding that no casualties had been reported.

The blasts came hours before the trial of Saddam Hussein was due to resume in Baghdad. Saddam and seven others are charged with crimes against humanity in connection with the execution of 148 villagers from Dujail after an assassination attempt on his life there in 1982.

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