Special Report: Tension accelerates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, May 3 (Xinhua) -- A bomb went off at a busy popular market in Baghdad's northern neighborhood on Wednesday, wounding at least 15 Iraqi civilians, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

    "A explosive charge detonated at the Nasr popular market in the mainly Shiite neighborhood of Shula, wounding 15 civilians," the source said on condition of anonymity.

    The explosion occurred when the Iraqi parliament convened under tight security measures in the heavily-fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad.

    The parliament is scheduled to choose a committee to draft the assembly¡¯s internal regulations.

    The legislature is also expected to form another committee charged with reviewing Iraq's constitution, which was passed in a national referendum last October. Enditem