Car bomb kills 6 Iraqi soldiers in east Baghdad

BAGHDAD, March 10 (Reuters) A suicide car bomber blew himself up at an Iraqi army checkpoint on the outskirts of a Shi'ite district of Baghdad today, killing six soldiers and wounding 20 civilians, the US military said.

Earlier Iraqi police had put the death toll from the car bomb at between six and 10, with up to 43 people wounded in the blast on the edge of Sadr City, a Shi'ite militia stronghold in northeast Baghdad.

The blast was several miles away from the city centre where security has been stepped up as regional and international officials gathered for a conference on Iraq.

A US statement said a suicide bomber was trying to enter Sadr City through the army checkpoint when his vehicle was halted by soldiers. The bomber then detonated his explosives.

US spokesman Major Steven Lamb said he was not aware of any other bombings in the area today, indicating the statement was a reference to the same incident reported by police.

Medical sources put the death toll at eight with 37 wounded.

Authorities frequently come up with different casualty numbers in Iraq, a reflection of the chaotic nature of the situation.

Sadr City is the Baghdad stronghold of the Mehdi Army, a Shi'ite militia loyal to a radical young cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr.

US and Iraqi forces last week pushed into the district as part of a major security crackdown throughout Baghdad aimed at stopping sectarian violence.

The Shi'ite district of Baghdad has frequently been targeted by major car bombs blamed by the government on Sunni Arab militants such as al Qaeda.

The Baghdad security crackdown is seen as a last ditch effort to stem sectarian violence that threatens to pitch Iraq into civil war.

Authorities were on alert for attacks aimed at disrupting the regional conference at the Foreign Ministry building in the city centre. Two mortars landed near the venue around lunchtime, shaking the building, witnesses said.

Millions of Shi'ites were also converging on the southern city of Kerbala for the climax of the religious rite of Arbain today. Such events have been targeted by insurgents before and security was tight there too.

REUTERS AKJ VC1930