Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq     

    BAGHDAD, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Two roadside bomb explosions struck police patrols in Baghdad on Sunday, wounding nine people, including three policemen, an Interior Ministry source said.

    A roadside bomb went off near a police patrol close to the Turkish embassy in Baghdad's Waziriyah neighborhood, wounding three policemen and two civilians, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    The blast also damaged a police vehicle, the source said.

    In separate incident, a roadside bomb detonated at about 7:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) near a police patrol in the Baghdad al-Jadida, or New Baghdad neighborhood in eastern the capital, wounding two policemen and two civilians, the source added.

    Violence persists in Baghdad despite a relative lull announced earlier by U.S. and Iraqi officials.