Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, March 24 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people were killed and more than 40 others wounded Saturday when a suicide car bomb hit a mosque in Hilla, some 100 km south of the capital, a local police source said.

    "A suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden truck into the al-Imam al-Mahdi mosque in al-Asriyah village in Hilla Saturday afternoon, then blew it up, killing eight people and wounding 40 others," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    Violence persists in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities despite the presence of tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers across the country in a major security crackdown aimed at curbing insurgency and sectarian violence in the war-torn country.