Car bomb against Baghdad police kills three

BAGHDAD, July 1 (Reuters) A car bomb attack on a police patrol in eastern Baghdad today killed three people and wounded 10, including police and civilians, police said.

The explosion, apparently in a parked car, went off close to a crowded market in the poor Shi'ite district of Sadr City.

The new national unity government of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has imposed a security clampdown on the capital for the past three weeks.

The US military yesterday said the number of attacks had risen in that time, despite the killing of al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on June 7 disrupting insurgent activity. As more security force patrols were on the streets, more attacks on them were being made, a US officer said.

REUTERS SI ND1202