Baghdad - Two civilians were killed and 13 injured when an explosive charge detonated near a commuter bus in Baghdad's al-Karada district Monday, media reports said without giving further details. Minutes before the explosion, a US patrol was seen passing the area. It was unclear whether the explosion was meant to target the US forces instead.
Meanwhile, a US soldier was killed and three others were injured in an armed attack on their patrol in the north-western Anbar province early Monday, a police source told Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency.
Two explosive charges detonated and several missiles were fired at the US patrol in northern al-Rutba city in Anbar.
Two American Hummer vehicles were destroyed in the same attack. US forces later cordoned off the scene and arrested five suspects.
Separately, the Iraqi National Accord movement, led by former premier Iyyad Allawi said that the movement had "cleansed" Baghdad's al-Fadl district of al-Qaeda in Iraq elements during a recent operation.
In a statement, cited by VOI, the movement said that their "fighters" had killed and wounded many al-Qaeda-affiliated militants.
At least 46 people were killed and 30 injured in clashes between the movement and militants, including seven from the National Accord. At least 20 houses in addition to mosques and shops in the area were damaged in the clashes, according to a statement.
The fighters of the National Accord allegedly discovered Iranian- marked weaponry in al-Fadl district.
The Iraqi National Accord movement is a secular group and a member of a government coalition known as the Iraqi National List, with 25 seats in Iraq's Council of Representatives.
Meanwhile, the US army in Iraq said Monday that its forces had detained two officials from Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army a day earlier.
The officials "are accused of conducting criminal activity." Al- Sadr had recently frozen his paramilitary wing ahead of moves to restructure it.
The two officials, one allegedly a commander of "three extremist companies and a 50-members terrorist cell," were captured in Baghdad. They are reportedly responsible for "terrorizing" citizens in al- Habibiyah, al-Baladiyat and Baghdad al-Jadidah areas.
Police sources in Diwaniyah, 200 kilometres south of Baghdad, told VOI that another Mahdi Amry leader was arrested at Monday dawn, along with his brother. The Mahdi Army senior Abbas al-Mussawy sustained a a gunshot wound during the arrest.
Another Mahdi Army leader, Kefah Abdullah Kazem, was also arrested in nearby Daghara, 18 kilometres north of Diwaniyah on suspicion of targeting Babil police forces with an explosive charge.
In other news, a senior leader of the Islamic State of Iraq group was detained in Kirkuk province, 250 kilometres north of Baghdad. He is accused of carrying out attacks on Iraqi and multinational forces in the region.
