A car bomb went off in a crowded small town northeast of Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least 25 people and injuring 40 others, police sources said. According to Reuters, the blast hit the Shi'ite town of Howaider, which is north of the provincial capital Baquba.
Police sources said the bomb was in a pick-up truck which exploded on the small town's main street.
Earlier, one U.S soldier died and four were injured when their vehicle was hit by a landmine in Baiji, 180 km north of Baghdad, the U.S military said in a statement published on Saturday. Two other soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in south Baghdad.
Elsewhere, two Iraqi policemen were killed and three injured when a roadside bomb went off near their patrol in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, police said, according to Reuters. In another incident, seven Iraqi troops were injured when gunmen attacked a checkpoint 30 km south of Baquba, Iraqi police declared.
Meanwhile, 400 Iraqi parties presented their candidates for the December general elections. Shortly after registration had closed Friday night for the December 15 election, a senior member of the electoral commission, Farid Ayyar, announced that "400 lists have been put forward," AFP reported.
