Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq     

    BAGHDAD, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and five others injured in a car bomb attack at a marketplace in southern Baghdad on Wednesday, an Interior Ministry source said.

    "A car bomb parking at the Athoriyen popular market in Doura district detonated in the afternoon, killing at least three people and wounding five others," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    The blast also damaged several nearby shops and cars, the source said.

    In a separate development, the death toll rose to 20 from a suicide car bomb attack in Baghdad's Karradah neighborhood which also wounded 49 others, a ministry source said.

    The attack took place near the al-Hurriyah Square at about 10:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) earlier in the day, the source said.

    Violence continues infesting Baghdad streets despite a more-than-five-month U.S. and Iraqi security plan aiming at putting rampant violence under control.