Sadr City Bomb Kills 30 Iraqi Shiites

A bomb hidden in a garbage bin early Monday killed at least 31 Shiite laborers awaiting work in a market area of Sadr City.

Local officials said at least 60 other people were injured by the blast in an impoverished part of the Shiite part of the city, the BBC reported.

There have been several similar attacks in the same area in the past, all suspected to be the work of Sunni Muslims, targeting followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who heads the Shiite Mehdi army militia, the report said. The most deadly bombing was in July, when more than 60 people were killed.

Sadr City has also been under siege for the past six days by U.S. forces searching for a missing soldier of Iraqi origin who was abducted last week in Baghdad.

Meanwhile in Baghdad, U.S. military officials said the Sunday death of a Marine brought October’s U.S. death toll to 100, the highest monthly toll since January 2005.