Special report: Tension accelerates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed and seven others wounded when a car bomb went off near a crowded market in eastern Baghdad on Saturday, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

    The blast, which took place shortly after 10:00 a.m. (0600 GMT),apparently caused by a parking explosive-packed vehicle near the Souq al-Auola market in the heavily populated Sadr City, the source said on condition of anonymity.

    The attack targeted a passing police patrol, which escaped unhurt, he said, adding that all the victims were civilians. Earlier, a roadside bomb struck an Iraqi police commando patrol near a cinema in Baghdad's Alawi neighborhood, killing three commando members, according to a ministry source. The blast damaged a police vehicle, killing the three commando members aboard, and caused damages in the nearby buildings and shops, he said.

    Violence has mounted despite the formation of a new unity government in the war-torn country after three years of the U.S.-led invasion. Enditem