Nine killed in fresh bombings in Iraq

Nine people, including four civilians, were killed in two bombings in Iraq on Thursday, a day after a devastating bomb attack in Sadr City which killed 74.

In Baghdad's Bayaa district, a bomb blast killed four persons and wounded another nine.

In the western Iraqi city of Falluja, five Iraqi soldiers were killed when an explosive device blew up while they were on patrol, security sources said.

Nine further soldiers were wounded in the attack.

Meanwhile the death toll in Wednesday's massive terror bombing in a market of eastern Baghdad's Shia district of Sadr City rose to 74, a security forces spokesman said. Another 150 persons were wounded.

According to eyewitness accounts, the bomb was apparently concealed beneath a motorcycle which was loaded with fruit. It was the worst single bombing attack in the Iraqi capital in a year.

The wave of bombings raises further concerns about the security situation in Iraq ahead of the targeted June 30 pullout of US forces from Iraqi cities and towns.

Prior to the Sadr City bombing on Wednesday, a huge bomb killed 65 persons in the northern city of Kirkuk on June 20.