A car has detonated in a central Baghdad street, killing at least two persons and injuring 25 others, eyewitnesses said.
A U.S. soldier said the blast was caused by a "vehicle-borne improvised explosive device" -- U.S. military terminology for a car bomb. But some Iraqis told Reuters they believed a rocket or mortar had hit the street.
In the aftermath of the blast, some Iraqis tried to tend to the wounded and to collect body parts. Hours later, U.S. troops defused a second car bomb nearby.
Neighbors and a close relative said one of the dead was Sabiha Aref, 72, the sister of two former Iraqi presidents, Abdel-Salam Aref and Abdel-Rahman Aref. She was killed by flying glass while cooking lunch at home, the relative said.
Meanwhile, three American troops were killed and two others were wounded in separate incidents in Iraq, the military said Monday.
Two were killed Sunday near the holy city of Kufa, where fighters loyal to the Shiite leader Motqada al-Sadr have clashed with occupation forces.
One died when attackers ambushed a patrol while the other was killed when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his tank.
Meanwhile, another soldier died and two others were wounded Sunday when they hit a roadside bomb south of Baghdad, the military reported. The injured soldiers were evacuated to a combat hospital. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
