Bombs kill 7 Iraqis including U.S. soldier

A bomb hidden in a parked minibus exploded in Baghdad's main wholesale market on Tuesday, killing two Iraqis and wounding five, police said. Insurgents also killed a U.S. Army soldier and five Iraqis in other attacks.

Photo: Bombs kill 7 Iraqis including U.S. soldier

In another development, the U.S. command announced that Iraq's Central Criminal Court had convicted 12 suspected insurgents in April of crimes such as joining a terrorist group. They included two men who were given life sentences for joining al-Qaida in Iraq operations: Hassan Abdullah Muhsin and Mohammed Dhaher Ibrahim Yassen Jazzah.

Tuesday's worst attack occurred in central Baghdad when the bomb hidden in the minibus exploded in Shorja, a market where wholesalers use warehouses, stalls and shops to sell food, clothing and house products to businessmen and shoppers.

At least two Iraqis were killed and five wounded, said Lt. Col. Falah al-Mohamadwi, an Interior Ministry policeman.

Baghdad is filled with privately owned minibuses that charge small fees to take citizens around the often crowded streets of the capital.

A roadside bomb killed the U.S. soldier at about 9:50 p.m. Monday, approximately 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of Baghdad. The area is part of the infamous "triangle of death" and the scene of numerous ambushes against U.S. and Iraqi troops, foreigners and Shiite civilians.

That bombing raised to at least 2,406 the number of members of the U.S. military who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

It was the first reported U.S. fatality in May. In April, 70 American servicemen died in Iraq, the highest monthly figure since November, when 84 U.S. servicemen were killed, reports the AP.

I.L.