Bomb kills nine outside Baghdad

A roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army convoy on the outskirts of Baghdad today, killing nine soldiers and wounded 20, police said.

The attack occurred about four miles from the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, which was at the centre of the prison abuse scandal last year after photographs were publicised showing US soldiers humiliating Iraqi inmates.

When the surviving soldiers responded by opening fire, they shot and killed the driver of a civilian car, said police Lt Ahmed Abud.

Four other attacks by insurgents occurred in Iraq today:

:: An Iraqi civilian was killed by a roadside bomb on a highway in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad.

:: A suicide car bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque in Abu al-Khasib, a town near Basra in southern Iraq, wounding two people.

:: In Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, a roadside bomb hit an Iraqi army convoy, wounding three soldiers.

:: In eastern Baghdad, two policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb hit their car.

The violence was part of a surge of militant attacks that have caused heavy casualties in recent weeks, ending a relative lull since Iraqis voted in historic January 30 elections.

Iraqi leaders are struggling to form a Cabinet that will include members of the Sunni minority, believed to be the driving force in the insurgency.

On Friday, a car bomb ripped through a crowded mosque during prayers, killing eight people and wounding 26.

The car bomb exploded at Al-Subeih mosque in the capital’s Shiite-dominated New Baghdad neighbourhood, said police Col. Ahmed Aboud. Witnesses said the vehicle used in the attack had been parked outside the building since the morning.

A 10-year-old child was among the eight people killed, and the 26 wounded included two none-year-olds, hospital officials said.

Shiite mosques and funerals have become a frequent target of Sunni-led insurgents.

In violence targeting the coalition, one US soldier was killed Friday by a roadside bomb north of Tal Afar, 95 miles east of the Syrian border, the military said.