Two dead, several wounded in Iraq attack

A bomb hidden in a parked minibus exploded in Baghdad’s main wholesale market today, killing two Iraqis and wounding five.

Insurgents also killed a US Army soldier and two Iraqi civilians in attacks using roadside bombs.

In another development, the US command announced that Iraq’s Central Criminal Court had convicted 12 suspected insurgents in April of crimes such as joining a terrorist group.

They included two men who were given life sentences for joining al-Qaida in Iraq operations: Hassan Abdullah Muhsin and Mohammed Dhaher Ibrahim Yassen Jazzah.

Today’s worst attack occurred in central Baghdad when the bomb hidden in the minibus exploded in Shorja, a market where wholesalers use warehouses, stalls and shops to sell food, clothing and household products to stores and shoppers.

At least two Iraqis were killed and five wounded, said Lieutenant Colonel Falah al-Mohamadwi, an Interior Ministry policeman.

The city is filled with privately-owned minibuses that charge small fees to take citizens of Baghdad around the often-crowded streets of the capital.

A roadside bomb killed the US soldier at about 9.50pm local time yesterday, approximately 40 miles south of Baghdad. The area is part of the infamous “triangle of death” and the scene of numerous ambushes against US and Iraqi troops, foreigners and Shiite civilians.

The bombing raised to at least 2,406 the number of members of the US military who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003.

In April, 70 American servicemen died in Iraq, the highest monthly figure since November, when 84 US servicemen were killed.