Roadside bombs kill 7 in separate attacks across Iraq

Roadside bombs killed at least seven Iraqis early Saturday, including four civilians who died on minibuses on their way to work, police said.

The first explosion killed two people and wounded nine around 6:15 a.m. in Baghdad's Baladiyat area, which is predominantly Shiite.

The bomb was likely aimed at a passing police patrol, but missed its target — hitting the minibus behind it instead, an officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Most of the victims were in the minibus, but some others had been riding in a pickup truck nearby, he added.

One of them was Qais Hassoun, who spoke to Associated Press Television News at a hospital in the Sadr City area, where the victims were taken.

"We are just construction workers, trying to get to our jobs. We were riding in the minibus when the explosion went off," Hassoun said, visibly shaken.

Footage of the blast site showed a blue minibus with its windows shattered and tires shredded. Blood was splashed across the vehicle's upholstered bench seats.

Other victims lay on gurneys in a crowded, grimy hospital corridor. One man laid on his back while medical workers wrapped white gauze up the length of his broken leg.

About three hours later, another roadside bomb exploded near a minibus in western Mosul, killing two passengers and wounding 15 other people in the area, police said. Mosul lies 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

Meanwhile in Diyala province, bombs killed an Iraqi soldier and two policemen in separate attacks, authorities said.

The soldier died when the weight of his humvee triggered explosives buried under a road in northern Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of the Iraqi capital, the Iraqi Army said.

The policemen were killed in Balad Ruz, 70 kilometers (45 miles) northeast of Baghdad, when another bomb exploded on their patrol car, said the city's police chief, Brig. Faris al-Amairi. Five people were wounded in the attack, he said.