Jasmine Loy- Four Americans, six Iraqis killed in Baghdad bomb blast

Two US soldiers, two American civilians and six Iraqis were killed in a bomb attack on Tuesday on municipal offices in Baghdad's eastern Shiite bastion of Sadr City.
The attack which the US military blamed on Shiite extremists occurred mid-morning shortly before district council elections were to take place, an Iraqi security official said.The American military said it detained a suspect soon after the attack. US embassy official W. Johann Schmonsees said that one of the civilians killed was a State Department employee and the other worked for the Defence Department. They were both attached to the American mission in Baghdad.The US military said two of its soldiers were killed in the blast and charged that the attack was carried out by Special Groups extremists. According to the military, Special Groups militants are trained, funded and armed by groups linked to Iran.
US troops quickly cordoned off the area surrounding the council offices, while Iraqi police sealed all the roads leading to the building. US military spokesman Major Mark Cheadle said the target of the attack had yet to be determined.The latest attack on US nationals comes a day after two American soldiers were killed and three wounded when they were fired on as they were leaving the council office of Madain town located south of Baghdad.

Personal Response ;

I felt sad for the recent decrease in violence in Baghdad and other regions of Iraq has led to an increased presence of US soldiers on the streets, most of them involved in restoring community services.But this has also made them vulnerable targets of militiamen and insurgent groups, especially in areas such as Sadr City where the troops fought raging battles earlier this year in which hundreds of people were killed.