Car Bomb Kills 6 in Baghdad, Iraq

30 July 2007 (By VOA News) -- Iraqi police say a car bomb killed six people in central Baghdad Monday, ending the brief drop in violence that came while Iraq celebrated its first Asia Cup football championship.

Authorities said at least 12 people were wounded in the blast in al-Tayran square, a transport hub in the center of the city.

The bomb went off only hours after the expiration of a vehicle ban that had been imposed Sunday ahead of Iraq's football final in Jakarta against Saudi Arabia. Iraq won the championship 1-0 and tens of thousands of Iraqis poured into the streets to celebrate.

Last week, bomb attacks on football celebrations killed about 50 people in Baghdad.

No bombings were reported Sunday, but police said that despite a ban on celebratory gunfire, at least two people were killed by stray bullets.

The Iraqi football team includes Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds, and has been heralded as a symbol of Iraqi unity. On state television, reporters draped in the Iraqi flag interviewed crowds of cheering spectators in cities across the country.

In other developments, the U.S. military says coalition forces killed eight terrorists and detained 40 other suspects during operations Monday and Sunday targeting al-Qaida in Iraq across the central part of the country.

The military also says two U.S. soldiers were killed during combat operations, one in eastern Baghdad and one north of the city.

Source: VOANews.com

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