Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- A policeman was killed and 14 other people were injured in roadside bombs and mortar attacks in the Iraqi capital on Wednesday morning, an Interior Ministry source said.

    "A roadside bomb struck a police commando patrol while passing near the al-Mustansriya University in eastern Baghdad, killing a policeman and wounding four others," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    The blast damaged a police vehicle and several nearby civilian cars, he said.

    Also in the morning, two roadside bombs detonated in a quick succession near another police commando patrol near a bridge in Baghdad's eastern neighborhood of Ghadeer, damaging a police vehicles and wounding five policemen aboard, the source said.

    Another roadside bomb went off near a police patrol close to a church in the al-Nidhal street in Baghdad's central neighborhood of Karrada, wounding two civilians, he said.

    In addition, a mortar round landed on Baghdad's western neighborhood of Mansour, leaving three people injured, he added.

    Violence continues in Baghdad despite the announcement of U.S. and Iraqi officials about a steep drop of violence as a result of a major security plan aimed at checking the insurgency and sectarian strife in the capital.