A car bomb has killed at least seven Iraqis and wounded 20 people, including two US soldiers in the town of Baiji, north of Baghdad.
A car bomb exploded near a U.S. military patrol in the town of Baiji, north of Baghdad today killing at least seven Iraqis and wounding 20 people, including two U.S. soldiers, doctors and the military said
A US military spokesman said the car exploded in a northern section of the city, 180 km north of Baghdad. He said the civilian casualties were taken to Baiji hospital and the US soldiers were evacuated.
A doctor at Baiji hospital, Samir Mehdi, said he had received seven civilian dead and 18 wounded, including a child. The US military gave the death toll as four, with 17 civilians wounded.
Witnesses said the attack occurred in a busy market area of the city, destroying dozens of stalls. In a separate attack, an insurgent fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a US tank in the town, wounding one US soldier, a spokesman from the US 1st Infantry Division said.
A hospital official in Baiji said a child and three traffic police were among the wounded.
Baiji, site of a major oil refinery, has seen a surge in violence over the past three weeks, since US forces launched their offensive to retake the rebellious town of Falluja.
US tanks and armoured vehicles, backed by helicopter gunships, launched an assault on parts of Baiji two weeks. Since then there have been frequent clashes between US forces and rebels in the town.