A bomb struck a municipal council building Tuesday in Baghdad's Shiite Sadr City district, killing four Americans, including two troops and two U.S. government civilian employees, U.S. officials said. At least six Iraqi civilians also died.
American forces captured a suspect who tested positive for explosive residue after fleeing the scene, the military said, according to the AP. It blamed Shiite extremists for the attack.
The explosions occurred at 9:30 a.m., about half an hour before a scheduled meeting to elect a chairman of the local council in the Shiite stronghold, an Iraqi official said. The bomb went off in the office where the meeting was to have occurred, the official said, adding that at least three council members were seriously injured.
A U.S. military statement said one U.S. soldier was hurt in addition to the two soldier fatalities. U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo said the American civilians included one State Department and one Defense Department employee.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in Berlin for a conference on Palestinian security, was informed of the attack shortly after it occurred and spoke with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker about the incident, according to State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. U.S. troops sealed off the building and the area.
An official of the Iraqi Interior Ministry said six Iraqi civilians died and 10 others were hurt.
The explosion occurred a day after a gunman opened fire on American troops attending a municipal council meeting southeast of Baghdad, killing two of them and wounding three soldiers. An interpreter was also killed.
© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
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