Car bomb kills 9 in Shi'ite east Baghdad -police

BAGHDAD, July 23 (Reuters) A car bomb killed at least nine civilians and wounded at least 25 in a Shi'ite Muslim district of eastern Baghdad today, police and Interior Ministry sources said.

The bomb was in Sadr City, a poor neighbourhood that is a stronghold of Shi'ite militias. Two weeks ago, a car bomb in the area killed about 60 people.

There were 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 machine guns and grenades and two Iraqi hostages were freed.

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

REUTERS SRS BST1134