Baghdad market bomb kills 13

The attack comes a day after 25 were killed when a bomb went off in a busy market area near a Shia mosque in the town of Howaider, near Baghdad.

Earlier the US military in Iraq said a roadside bomb had killed a US soldier south-west of Baghdad on Thursday.

A day earlier, three US soldiers were killed in similar bombings, it said.

A police spokesman said government employees have been targetted in several attacks in the capital:

• Gunmen killed Mahmoud Ahmed, brother of Tareq al-Hashemi, who is widely expected to become the speaker of the new parliament

• A foreign ministry worker was kidnapped

• A health ministry employee was injured and her driver killed in an ambush

• A housing ministry worker was also wounded in a shooting

The police said several pedestrians were injured in roadside bomb blasts and shootings elsewhere in Baghdad.

US MILITARY ASSESSMENT OF STABILITY IN IRAQ

• Ratings based on governance, security and economic situations
• Stable: Fully-functioning government; strong economic development; local security forces maintain rule of law
• Moderate: Government functions, but with some concerns; economy developing slowly, with unemployment problems; security under control but with potential for instability
• Serious: Government not fully formed; economy stagnant; unemployment high; routine anti-Iraq forces activity, assassinations and extremism
• Critical: Government not functioning or only single strong leader; no infrastructure for economy to develop; high levels of anti-Iraq forces activity, assassinations and extremism
• Assessment made in January 2006. Sectarian violence in Iraq has surged since February

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