11 killed in Baghdad bomb blasts

At least 11 people were killed and more than a dozen wounded when a series of roadside bombs exploded early today in East Baghdad, Iraqi police said.

US military officials reported two more American soldiers had died in action in the Iraqi capital.

The first blast occurred about 7.30am local time near the Dhubat neighbourhood, killing four civilians and wounding seven others, police said.

Two more blasts occurred two minutes apart in another area of eastern Baghdad, killing seven people and wounding seven, police said. The dead included two traffic policemen and five civilians.

Also today, the US command announced that two American soldiers were killed yesterday when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in the western part of the capital. The soldiers were assigned to Multinational Corps-Iraq, the US military said in a brief statement.

Those latest deaths occurred as the US Senate was in an all-night session as Democrats sought to dramatise opposition to the Iraq war. Democratic leaders conceded they were unlikely to gain the votes needed to advance troop withdrawal legislation blocked by Republicans.

The US military has stepped up the pace of operations in recent weeks, hoping to drive Sunni and Shiite extremists from sanctuaries in and around Baghdad as they scramble to train enough Iraqi security forces to prevent the gunmen from regrouping.