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Car bomb strikes eastern Baghdad | Car bomb strikes eastern Baghdad |
(about 2 hours later) | |
A car bomb has exploded in an eastern suburb of Baghdad, killing 10 people and injuring at least 25. | A car bomb has exploded in an eastern suburb of Baghdad, killing 10 people and injuring at least 25. |
The attack occurred shortly before a suicide bomber drove a vehicle into an army base in northern Iraq, killing at least seven soldiers. | |
Both strikes come after a day of bloodshed in the capital in which at least 70 died in a city centre bombing. | |
Escalating violence has increased pressure on the US administration to alter its policy on Iraq. | |
But on Tuesday, the White House said it would not announce any changes until the New Year. President George W Bush had been expected to make a speech before Christmas. | |
Morning rush | |
The first attack on Wednesday occurred in the suburb of Kamaliya, a predominantly Shia area of the capital. | |
According to an official, the bomb exploded close to a mosque in an area often crowded in the morning with commuters and day labourers looking for work. | According to an official, the bomb exploded close to a mosque in an area often crowded in the morning with commuters and day labourers looking for work. |
Many Iraqis now avoid crowded places as these are increasingly targeted by bombers, who have also been know to draw in crowds with false offers of employment. | |
But correspondents say the need for work means many are prepared to take the risk. | |
Tuesday's bombing occurred in the suburb of Sadr City when it was similarly crowded with poor Shias looking for a day's labour. | Tuesday's bombing occurred in the suburb of Sadr City when it was similarly crowded with poor Shias looking for a day's labour. |
In November - the bloodiest since the US invaded in 2003 - the same suburb saw the most vicious attack to date. More than 200 people died in a string of bombings in the area. | |
The city is now widely seen to be in the grip of tit-for-tat sectarian violence. | |
'No changes yet' | 'No changes yet' |
Meanwhile at least seven soldiers died in an attack on an army base in the town of Riyadh, some 60 km (40 miles) south of the oil city of Kirkuk. | |
According to one report, the unit was guarding an oil installation. | |
Correspondents say attacks on these are common as insurgents are keen to prevent the US-backed government from getting oil revenue. | |
Amid spiralling violence, a long-awaited government-commissioned report on US policy in Iraq last week called for urgent action to stop "a slide towards chaos". | |
President George W Bush has acknowledged the need for a new approach but so far he has been sceptical of the central recommendations - notably talks with Iran and Syria. |