October U.S. Death Toll in Iraq Hits 100

An Iraqi man cries over his relative's body at Baghdad's al-Sadr hospital in Shiite enclave of Sadr City Monday, Oct. 30, 2006. A bomb tore through a collection of food stalls and kiosks Monday morning, killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 50 others. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (Karim Kadim - AP)

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A bomb tore through food stalls and kiosks in a sprawling Shiite slum Monday, killing at least 31 people, while the U.S. military announced the death of the 100th servicemember in Iraq this month.

The 6:15 a.m. explosion in Sadr City targeted poor Shiites who gather there each morning hoping to be hired as construction workers. At least 51 people were wounded, said police Maj. Hashim al-Yasiri.

Meanwhile, new details emerged about a U.S. soldier who went missing last week, sparking a massive manhunt. A woman claiming to be his mother-in-law said Monday that the soldier was married to a Baghdad college student and was with the young woman and her family when hooded gunmen handcuffed and threw him in the back seat of a white Mercedes. The marriage would violate military regulations.

The area of Monday's attack, a stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, has witnessed repeated bombings by suspected al-Qaida fighters seeking to incite Shiite revenge attacks and drag the country into full-blown civil war.

Ali Abdul-Ridha, being treated for head and shoulder wounds at a hospital, said he was waiting for a job with his brother and about 100 others when he heard a massive explosion and "lost sight of everything."

The U.S. and Iraqi military have kept a tight cordon around Sadr City since a raid last week in search of an alleged Shiite death squad leader, who was not found.

Abdul-Ridha said the area had been exposed to attack because U.S. and Iraqi forces had driven Mahdi fighters who usually provide protection into hiding.

"That forced Mahdi Army members, who were patrolling the streets, to vanish," Abdul-Ridha, 41, said from his bed in al-Sadr Hospital.

However, Falih Jabar, a 37-year-old father of two boys, said the Mahdi Army was responsible for provoking extremists to attack civilians in the neighborhood of 2.5 million people.

"We are poor people just looking to make a living. We have nothing to do with any conflict," said Jabar, who suffered back wounds. "If (the extremists) have problems with the Mahdi Army, they must fight them, not us."

The last major bombing in Sadr City occurred on Sept. 23 when a bomb hidden in a barrel blew up a kerosene tanker, killing at least 35 people waiting to stock up on fuel for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

October has seen rising civilian casualties and has been the fourth deadliest month for American troops since the war began in March 2003. The highest was November 2004, with 137 killed, followed by 135 in April 2004 and 107 in January 2005.