A car bomb detonated by remote control went off in a crowded central Baghdad square on Thursday moments after an American military convoy passed, killing at least two Iraqis and injuring two others, the U.S. Army said. 
The car went off in Tahrir Square, a commercial area in the heart of the city. There were no U.S. casualties, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. James Hutton said.
Also Thursday, Iraqi authorities announced the country's borders would be sealed for five days this month around the time of a major Shiite religious holiday.
A statement from the office of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said all borders would close from Feb. 17-22. The announcement said only that the decision was taken "to enhance the security and guarantee the Iraqi citizens' safety."
South of Baghdad, the bodies of 20 Iraqi truck drivers who had been shot dead were found dumped on a road, said police Capt. Ahmed Ismail. The men's hands were bound behind their backs. Some of the trucks were owned by the government, Ismail said.
Gunmen fired on an Iraqi police patrol Thursday in the city of Baqouba, north of Baghdad, setting off a gunbattle that killed a civilian bystander and injured two police officers, a security official said.
In a separate attack, assailants killed a police lieutenant in Baqouba's industrial neighborhood, the official said.
West of Baghdad, five bodies in Iraqi National Guard uniforms were found in the city of Ramadi. Ala al Ani, director of the hospital, said residents reported that the slain men were among 13 Guardsmen who went missing recently.
In the northern city of Mosul, American forces raided the house of a high-ranking Iraqi National Guard officer and arrested four of his security guards, an Iraqi Guard officer said.
In the northern city of Kirkuk, a roadside bomb exploded several minutes after a U.S. military patrol passed, killing one Iraqi, police said.
© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
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