6 killed, 35 wounded in 2 bomb attacks in eastern, southern Baghdad

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6 killed in 2 separate bomb attacks in Baghdad

BAGHDAD — Iraqi officials said at least six people were killed and 35 were wounded in two separate attacks in Baghdad on Wednesday.

In the first of the two attacks, three policemen and one civilian were killed when a parked car bomb exploded near a bus station in Baghdad’s southern Bayaa neighborhood.

A second bomb targeting police and rescue services arriving at the blast site detonated minutes later. There were no reports on casualties from the second blast.

In eastern Baghdad, two bombs near a bus station went off simultaneously, killing two civilians and wounding 12 others. Health officials confirmed the death toll.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Violence has dramatically subsided in Iraq since 2008, but insurgents still frequently strike with lethal force, targeting the country’s security forces, government institutions and civilians.

In a separate development, a senior Iraqi military intelligence official said Wednesday that Iraq opened an investigation into an incident on the previous day when an Iraqi soldier opened fire on a group of American troops protecting one of their commanders during a visit to an Iraqi army base.

Two American soldiers were killed and nine other wounded in the attack. The two were the first U.S. servicemen to die since President Barack Obama declared an end to combat operations in Iraq last week.

The initial findings show that the assailant was a Kurdish member of Iraq’s special forces and has participated in joint patrols and raids with U.S. troops, the Iraqi official said.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

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Associated Press Writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this report.