Suicide car bomber kills 26 in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A suicide car bomber struck a mostly Shiite neighborhood Thursday in central Baghdad, killing 26 people, hours after the prime minister promised the coming U.S.-Iraq security sweep in the capital would pursue militants wherever they were hiding.\nThe blast occurred shortly after two rockets slammed into the heavily fortified Green Zone. Two hours later, a second huge explosion rocked the area.\nPolice said they had blown up a second car bomb that had been disabled before its second suicide bomber could detonate it.\nThe U.S. military said an American soldier was killed Thursday by a roadside bomb northwest of Baghdad.\nA massive plume of black smoke rose into the air on the east bank of the Tigris River and heavy gunfire rang out in the aftermath of the explosions in the capital.\nThe suicide bomber struck in the central neighborhood of Karradah, the second to hit the area in three days. At least three policemen were among the 26 dead from the latest bombing and 54 people were wounded, police and hospital officials said.\nAngry Shiite residents took to the streets chanting, "We want the Sunnis out!" There is a small Christian and Sunni population in that section of the city.\nThe blast destroyed three minivans, 11 cars and dozens of shops, as well as the neighborhood's post office, according to a resident.\nIt struck shortly after the explosions in the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. and British embassies and Iraqi government offices. The public address system inside the compound could be heard warning in English that people should take cover because "this is not a drill."\nThe U.S. military said at least two rockets, possibly three, struck the Green Zone, injuring six people. The attack caused little structural damage, it added in a statement.\nU.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor told The Associated Press there were no deaths and the situation was under control.\n"The embassy is functioning normally," he said.\nKarradah has been the site of several bombings, including one Tuesday that killed four people and wounded seven.\nAmbulances raced from the scene, at least one with the back door still open and bodies stacked in the back, AP Television News video showed.\nPrime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told lawmakers the coming U.S-Iraqi security sweep in Baghdad would not be the last battle against militants, and he warned insurgents would not be safe anywhere in the country.