Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq     

    BAGHDAD, March 16 (Xinhua) -- A civilian was killed and two others were injured when a car bomb detonated near a convoy of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in western Baghdad on Sunday, an Interior Ministry source said.

    "A car bomb parked on the al-Amirat Street in the upscale neighborhood of Mansour blew up in the morning near a convoy of SUVs believed to be affiliated to a foreign security firm was," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    The attack resulted in the damaging one of the convoy's vehicles and a nearby civilian car, along with the killing of a bystander and the wounding two others, the source said.

    Violence continue in Baghdad despite the announcement of the 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.