A parked car bomb struck a meat market in a predominantly Shiite town south of Baghdad, killing 15 people and injuring dozens on Thursday, Iraqi police said. The blast occurred at 10:30 a.m. in Aziziyah, 56 miles south of Baghdad.
At least six people died when another car bomb exploded near a Sunni mosque in the capital. The Baghdad blast occurred near a mosque in Al-Ameen, a security source said.
In Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, four policemen and a civilian died during an attack on a patrol, AFP added. Another seven people died and 12 were injured late Wednesday when two bombs exploded in Suwaira, south of Baghdad.
Elsewhere, American and Iraqi forces detained the deputy health minister during a raid on the Health Ministry building in central Baghdad on Thursday, a ministry spokesman and witnesses said. According to Reuters, Hakim Zamili, the deputy minister, is a senior member of the political group loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
