Car bomb kills two in Baghdad’s Sadr city

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A bomb inside a minibus exploded in a
market area in Baghdad’s Sadr City Shi’ite slum on Tuesday,
killing two people and wounding five, police said.

Sadr City, in eastern Baghdad, is a stronghold of radical
Shi’ite cleric and militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr, who is a
member of the ruling Shi’ite coalition.

The blast damaged shop fronts in a commercial street and
turned the bus into a mangled wreck.

No group has claimed responsibility but tensions between
Muslim Shi’ites and Sunnis are running high since the February
bombing of a Shi’ite shrine unleashed a bloody wave of reprisal
attacks.

“We are innocent people. They bombed a bus,” said one
neighbor. Earlier, police said the blast was a car bomb.

Seven car bombs exploded in the Iraqi capital on Monday,
killing at least eight people and wounding 80.

Prime Minister-designate Jawad al-Maliki is working to form
a government of national unity, widely seen as the best
solution to avert a slide into sectarian civil war.