A car bomb exploded Monday near coalition headquarters, killing four people and wounding 25 in violence that U.S. authorities believe was aimed at blocking the coming transfer of power. Four American soldiers were reported killed in other attacks. Shiite leaders also urged U.S. troops to halt “aggressive patrolling” in a bid to save a tattered truce with a radical cleric’s militia around Shiite holy cities south of the capital. Monday’s blast took place in Baghdad’s Harithiyah district, about a half-mile from where the head of the Iraqi Governing Council, Izzadine Saleem, was assassinated in a May 17 car bombing. U.S. soldiers pushed back screaming crowds as ambulances raced to tend to the wounded. U.S. officers said no prominent political figures were in the area at the time and they were uncertain of the target. It also was unclear whether it was a suicide attack. However, the dead did include Sabiha Aref, 72, the sister of former Iraqi presidents Abdel-Salam Aref and Abdel-Rahman Aref, who served as head of state in succession between 1963 and 1968. She was killed by flying glass while cooking lunch at home, a relative said on condition he not be named. Full Story
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