Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq     

    BAGHDAD, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Three civilians were injured in a roadside bomb attack targeting a U.S. patrol in eastern Baghdad on Friday, an Interior Ministry source said.

    "A roadside bomb went off around midday near a U.S. patrol while passing in the al-Habibiyah neighborhood, wounding three civilians," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    It was unclear whether the U.S. patrol sustained any casualty as the troops immediately cordoned off the area, preventing the Iraqi police from approaching the scene, he said.

    The U.S. military has not confirmed the incident yet.

    Also in the capital, the source said that police patrols collected two unidentified bodies dumped in different parts of Baghdad during the past 24 hours.

    The bullet-ridden bodies were blindfolded and bound, showing signs of torture, he added.

    Violence and daily gruesome finding of unidentified bodies 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.