Motorcycle bomb in Baghdad's Sadr City kills 7

BAGHDAD, Nov 2 (Reuters) A motorcycle bomb killed seven people and wounded 45 others as it ripped through a crowded motorbike market in Baghdad's Shi'ite Sadr City district today, an Interior Ministry source said.

The bomb, detonated by remote control, targeted shoppers in the Mureydi market. The source, quoting police at the scene, said officers initially thought the explosion was caused by a rigged car but later determined the explosives had been planted on a motorcycle.

The densely populated and impoverished area is often targeted by Sunni militants.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki demanded the US and Iraqi military lift a blockade of the district that was enforced after a US soldier of Iraqi descent was suspected to have been kidnapped by a powerful militia controlling many parts of the slum, which is home to a third of Baghdad's population.

REUTERS PDM HS2110