A suicide car bomb targeting a line of cars waiting at a Baghdad gas station killed two people and wounded 13 yesterday, while a bomb near a restaurant wounded eight people, police said.
The suicide car bomb exploded at a gas station in the Mashtal area in eastern Baghdad, killing a woman and a man and wounding 13 people, police Captain Mohammed Abdul-Ghani said.
He said US forces took three of the wounded to their nearby base because their injuries were severe. The others were taken to a local hospital.
Due to a severe fuel shortage, lines of cars at Baghdad gas stations often stretch for several kilometers, and drivers sometimes have to wait overnight to fill their cars.
Earlier in the day, a bomb exploded near a restaurant on Palestine Street, a main avenue in the east of the capital and the frequent site of explosions targeting US and Iraqi forces.
In Mahaweel, about 56km south of Baghdad, a bomb at a wedding party wounded at least seven people, police said.
Meanwhile, US authorities released more than 30 detainees. The men were taken to a central bus station in the capital, where many kissed the ground. Authorities did not give any details of what they had been detained for, or how long they had been held.
The US military reported a US soldier was killed north of the capital on Wednesday by a bomb blast while conducting a route security mission. It did not give details of the location.
Also on Wednesday, top US commander in Iraq, General George Casey, said Iraqi troops were on course to take over security control from US-led coalition forces.
"I don't have a date, but I can see over the next 12 to 18 months, the Iraqi security forces progressing to a point where they can take on the security responsibilities for the country, with very little coalition support," he said.
The US military has long maintained that any US troop drawdown would have to be preceded by Iraqi forces taking on more and more responsibility.
When asked whether the Iraqi security forces could assume full responsibility for security, allowing the coalition's forces to withdraw completely, Casey said it was too early to tell and that it would depend on the situation at the time.
"I'm not sure yet," he said of the Iraqi security capability.
"And we'll adjust that as we go. But a lot of that, in fact the future coalition presence, 12 to 18 months from now, is going to be decided by the Iraqi government," Casey said.
The general said Iraqi forces are now "75 percent" along the path of being able to operate independently of coalition forces, but said the Iraqis still need to develop support systems such as logistics, intelligence, and medical support.
US officials have lauded the results of a major security crackdown in Baghdad that they say has resulted in a dramatic fall in sectarian killings.
According to US officials, the murder rate in the capital has dropped almost 50 percent last month compared to July; that figure could not be independently confirmed.
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