At least six Iraqis killed by blast in shopping district

A CAR BOMB exploded in an upmarket shopping district of Baghdad yesterday, killing at least six Iraqis and setting fire to an apartment building, in a surge of violence that has left at least 130 people dead since a new government was formed last week.

US and Iraqi forces have detained 84 suspects in Baghdad since Sunday. An additional 52 suspects were detained yesterday in a joint operation in the Diyarah area, south of the capital.

The attacks are blamed on an insurgency believed largely made up of members of the disaffected Sunni Arab minority, who dominated Iraq for decades under Saddam Hussein but were mainly shut out of a partial new Cabinet announced last Thursday.