A bomb tore through a minibus during morning rush hour today in a mainly Shia area in Baghdad, killing at least nine people and wounding 24.
The blast was a grim reminder of the major challenge facing Iraqi forces three weeks ahead of the June 30 deadline for US troops to withdraw from urban areas.
The bomb was attached to the minibus in the southern area of Abu Dshir, a Shia enclave in the mainly Sunni neighborhood of Dora, police said.
The explosion left a crater at the entrance of the bus station where commuters were gathered to catch rides to different parts of the city.
Police and hospital officials gave the death toll and said 24 people also were wounded. An Interior Ministry official said all those killed had been passengers on the bus while the wounded were bystanders waiting nearby.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.
Both districts have faced brutal sectarian bloodshed in past years but have seen a sharp decline in violence following a Sunni revolt against insurgent groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq and a Shia militia cease-fire.
US-Iraqi forces also increased their presence and cordoned areas off with concrete walls and checkpoints in the citywide push to quell the violence that pushed the country to the brink of civil war.
With the decline in violence, Iraqi authorities have taken down many of the concrete walls in a bid to restore a sense of normalcy in the capital.
But several recent high-profile bombings have raised concerns about the readiness of Iraqi forces to take over their own security.
The June 30 withdrawal date was provided for in the US-Iraq security agreement that took effect this year. President Barack Obama plans to end U.S. combat operations by September 2010 and remove all US troops from the country by Dec. 31, 2011.
Iraq's Shia-led government insisted on a timetable for the withdrawal during last year's negotiations that produced the security agreement.
AP