Car bomb kills 26 in Shi'ite east Baghdad: Police

Baghdad, July 23: A car bomb killed 26 civilians and wounded 60 in a Shi'ite Muslim district of eastern Baghdad today, police said.

The bomb was in the Sadr City neighbourhood, a poor area that is a stronghold of Shi'ite militias. Two weeks ago, a car bomb in the area killed about 60 people, one of a number of very bloody incidents this month that have raised fears of civil war.

There were also clashes in the district overnight between the Mehdi Army of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and US-led forces, residents and police said.

The US military said in a statement that Iraqi troops raided a site in mainly Shi'ite eastern Baghdad targeting two people believed to be involved in ''death squads'' -- a term usually applied to Shi'ite militia activity.

It said eight people were detained after a battle involving machineguns and grenades and that two Iraqi hostages were freed.

Two other people were arrested in a similar raid in northwestern Baghdad, the military said.

Reuters

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