By Thomas Wagner
Baghdad - An attack by a suicide car bomber near a United States patrol in southern Baghdad killed two American soldiers and wounded four, an official said on Wednesday.
The explosion occurred in the Al-Amil area of the capital on Tuesday night, said Lieutenant Colonel Clifford Kent, a spokesperson for America's 3rd Infantry Division. Seven Iraqi civilians also were rushed to Al-Yarmouk Hospital with injuries, an official there said.
It was one of a series of attacks by insurgents in Iraq on Tuesday, which killed a dozen other Iraqis and wounded more than 60.
| There has been a surge of violence by militants |
They included another car blast in western Baghdad targeting a US patrol that wounded seven Iraqis, police and hospital officials said.
An Iraq group linked to al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack, a suicide bombing near an army recruitment centre in Baghdad that police said killed at least six Iraqis and wounded 44.
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For the past week, there has been a surge of violence by militants in the capital.
In another development, Iraqi lawmakers adjourned for about an hour on Tuesday in a protest demanding an apology after a Shi'a legislator linked to a radical anti-American cleric tearfully said he was handcuffed and humiliated at a US checkpoint.
It was the third consecutive day that Iraq's interim parliament was sidetracked from its job of setting up a government and writing a constitution. The legislators meet behind the sandbags and blast walls of the US-protected Green Zone.
| 'We have the highest respect for all members of the Transitional National Assembly' |
Lawmaker Fattah al-Sheik stood before the assembly and cried as he described being stopped at a checkpoint on the way to work on Tuesday. He claimed an American soldier kicked his car, mocked the legislature, handcuffed him and held him by the neck.
"What happened to me represents an insult to the whole National Assembly that was elected by the Iraqi people. This shows that the democracy we are enjoying is fake," al-Sheik said. "Through such incidents, the US Army tries to show that it is the real controlling power in the country, not the new Iraqi government."
Al-Sheik's small party has been linked to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who led uprisings against the US-led coalition in 2004. On his way home after the session, gunmen fired on al-Sheik's convoy, but he escaped unharmed, police and his party said.
The US military said its initial investigation indicated that in the morning, al-Sheik got into an altercation with a coalition translator at the checkpoint. US soldiers tried to separate them and "briefly held on to the legislator," while preventing another member of al-Sheik's party from getting out of his vehicle, a military statement said.
"We have the highest respect for all members of the Transitional National Assembly. Their safety and security is critically important," US Brigadier General Karl R Horst said in the statement. "We regret this incident occurred and are conducting a thorough investigation."
During the adjournment, lawmaker Salam al-Maliki read an assembly statement demanding an apology from the US Embassy and the prosecution of the soldier who allegedly mistreated the legislator.
Hajim al-Hassani, the parliament speaker, said: "We reject any sign of disrespect directed at lawmakers."
Each day this week, the legislature's opening session on current affairs has extended well beyond the scheduled 30 minutes.
Legislators have discussed traffic jams in Baghdad, Saddam Hussein's alleged war crimes, claims that hostages were being held south of Baghdad and al-Sheik's complaint. Coffee breaks, lunch and lengthy debates over issues such as how long each legislator should be allowed to speak have taken up the rest of the day.
In other violence in Iraq on Tuesday, insurgents opened fire on Iraqi soldiers in Khaldiyah town, 120km west of Baghdad, killing four and wounding seven, police and hospital officials said. And in the capital, masked men shot and killed professor Fuad Ibrahim Mohamed al-Bayati as he left home for the University of Baghdad, police said.
One Iraqi civilian was killed in a roadside bombing in the Iskandariyah area, about 48km south of Baghdad, and three were wounded in a similar attack in Baqouba, north-east of the capital. The Baquba bombing missed a US military convoy. American soldiers returned fire, wounding one of the attackers, the military said. - Sapa-AP
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