Roadside bomb kills seven in east Baghdad -police

BAGHDAD, Aug 16 (Reuters) Seven people were killed and 18 wounded today by a roadside bomb in Baghdad, a police source said.

The attack was under a highway flyover and near a hospital in the east of the capital, the source said. All the casualties were civilians.

US and Iraqi forces last week launched their latest clampdown in Baghdad to stem a rising tide of sectarian violence, which top US officers warn could tip the country into a full-scale civil war.

To bolster security, Washington has reinforced the capital with more US soldiers and there are now around 50,000 US and Iraqi forces conducting raids and searches to clear out militant and insurgent strongholds in the most dangerous neighbourhoods.

REUTERS SKU BS1341