Three explosions in Baghdad kill at least 37 people



Ten more hostages were reportedly seized today in Iraq.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- At least three bombs exploded near a U.S. convoy in western Baghdad today, killing 37 people and wounding more than 50, officials said. Hours earlier, a suicide car bombing killed a U.S. soldier and two Iraqis on the capital's outskirts.
It was not known how many of the dead in the Baghdad attack were soldiers and how many were civilians. A U.S. helicopter evacuated some of the wounded while other aircraft circled overhead, an Associated Press photographer reported from the scene. U.S. forces sealed off the area.
In the northern city of Talafar, meanwhile, police and hospital officials said an explosion killed four people and wounded 16.
There were conflicting accounts of what caused the blast. Military spokeswoman Capt. Angela Bowman said it was a car bomb, but police in nearby Mosul said it was a device planted in the road.
Interior Ministry spokesman Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman said two car bombs and a roadside bomb exploded in swift succession as the convoy was passing. The attack happened around 1 p.m. in the al-Amel neighborhood, said Lt. Col. Jim Hutton, spokesman for the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division.
Yarmouk Hospital received 37 bodies and more than 50 wounded in the attack, said Dr. Nibras Hamdan.
Resident Samir Abul-Karim said the attack happened during a ceremony marking the opening of a new sewage system in the neighborhood.
Car bomb
The attack occurred hours after a suicide car bomber struck in the Abu Ghraib area outside of Baghdad. At least two Iraqis were killed and 60 wounded, said Dr. Abbas al-Timimi of Abu Ghraib hospital. Along with the killed soldier, three American military personnel were wounded and were evacuated, said Maj. Philip Smith, spokesman for the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division.
That bomb targeted a compound that houses the mayor's office, a police station and other buildings, police 1st Lt. Ahmed Jawad said. A U.S. Bradley fighting vehicle parked in front of the compound was hit, he said.
Smoke and fire could be seen rising from the scene as U.S. forces sealed off the area. The wounded Americans were evacuated, said Maj. Philip Smith, spokesman for the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division.
Elsewhere on the outskirts of Baghdad, insurgents fired a rocket today at a logistical support area for coalition forces, killing one soldier and wounding seven, the military said in a statement. No further information was disclosed -- including whether it was a U.S. soldier or not.
Meanwhile today, the United States targeted a suspected terrorist safe house in Fallujah, killing at least four Iraqis. The military said in a statement that intelligence reports indicated the house was being used by followers of Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to plan attacks against U.S.-led forces and Iraqi citizens.
Earlier today, the Arab news network Al-Jazeera showed footage of 10 new hostages seized in Iraq by militants. Al-Jazeera said the 10 -- six Iraqis, two Lebanese and two Indonesian women -- were taken by The Islamic Army in Iraq. The group has claimed responsibility for seizing two French journalists last month.
The footage showed three of the hostages, who were not identified, and two masked gunmen pointing weapons at them. There was no mention of demands by the militant or when or where the hostages were captured.
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