Thirteen die in shooting, bombing in Baghdad

Thirteen people died in a shooting and a bombing in Baghdad today.

Thirteen people died in a shooting and a bombing in Baghdad today.

Gunmen opened fire on a minibus taking labourers to work in southwestern Baghdad, killing six.

In northern Baghdad, seven people were killed and four others wounded in a car bomb apparently targeting a police patrol. Of those killed, four were police and three were civilians.

Elsewhere, officials are trying to secure the release of 15 members of the national tae kwondo martial arts squad, kidnapped as they drove through a rebellious desert region for training abroad.

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Iraqi leaders are close to a deal on a new national unity government, but names for key posts were still being discussed today in a coalition that could end months of political paralysis and tackle violence.

Complaints of Shai domination of the Interior Ministry and police under the interim government had led to demands from minority Sunnis and the United States for non-partisan figures to run the ministry in the new, full-term administration.