A car bomb went off Thursday in Baghdad's biggest Shiite district, killing seven people and wounding 15, officials said. The parked car exploded a little after noon near a market in Sadr City, police Lt. Adil Salih told the AP. The Iraqi army general command said in a statement that seven people died and 15 wounded.
Meanwhile, Iraq's prime minister insisted that Iraqi forces were ready to take over security duties in most provinces despite rising violence. On their part, U.S. officials confirmed that the number of roadside bombs directed against American and Iraqi forces rose sharply last month.
U.S. officials said that, in July, a total of 2,625 bombs went off or were discovered before they could detonate. That was up sharply from the 1,454 bombs that went off or were discovered in January.
Of the bombs discovered in July, 1,666 of them exploded and the rest were detected. About 70 percent of them were directed at U.S.-led forces.
Deputy Health Minister Adel Muhsin said Wednesday that some 3,500 Iraqis died in July in sectarian or political violence nationwide, the highest monthly death toll for civilians since the war started in March 2003. Last week, the ministry said about 1,500 violent deaths were reported in the Baghdad area alone in July.
