Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq     

Men remove debris from their shop that was destroyed in a blaze in New Baghdad district east of the capital April 14, 2008. Dozens of shops were burned after a roadside bomb attack that targeted a U.S. military patrol in New Baghdad early on Monday, police said. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BAGHDAD, April 14 (Xinhua) -- A roadside bomb explosion struck a U.S. patrol early on Monday in eastern Baghdad, destroying a U.S. Humvee and setting a huge fire to a nearby popular market, a well-informed police source said.

    The attack took place at about 2 a.m. (2300 GMT on Sunday) at the market selling used clothes in Baghdad's al-Jadida neighborhood, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    The powerful blast tore a U.S. Humvee apart, but there is no reports on casualties among the U.S. soldiers as the troops sealed off the area, the source said.

    A huge fire sparked by the blast totally burned more than 20 kiosks and shops selling used clothes in the popular market, he said, adding some 12 teams of firefighters rushed to the scene and put out the fire at dawn.

Residents gather at the ruins of gutted shops after a blaze in New Baghdad district east of the capital April 14, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    In a separate incident, the source said that a roadside bomb struck another U.S. patrol in the Fadhiliyah neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, and there was also no reports on casualties.

    The U.S. military did not confirm both the incidents yet.

    The two areas where the attacks occurred are predominantly Shiite neighborhoods where Mahdi Army militia loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are active.

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