4 killed, 11 wounded in bombing south of Baghdad

[July 31, 2010]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraqi officials say a roadside bomb has killed four Iraqis, including three soldiers, and wounded 11 people south of Baghdad.

The blast took place on Saturday near the municipal offices in Rashid district just south of the Iraqi capital, as soldiers were responding to an earlier explosion in the same area.

Police and hospital officials say the three soldiers and a bystander succumbed to their wounds in a Baghdad hospital. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Violence has dramatically dropped in Iraq since 2008, but insurgent attacks are still a daily occurrence at a time when U.S. forces are withdrawing and leaving the country's nascent forces alone in charge of security.

[Associated Press; By SAMEER N. YACOUB]

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