Baghdad Market Bomb Kills 25, Hurts 60

An Iraqi army officer patrols the area in Haifa street during security measures in central Baghdad, Iraq, on Monday, May 21 2007. In western Baghdad, a roadside bomb detonated near a group of Iraqi soldiers patrolling the Sunni-dominated Adil neighborhood in western Baghdad about 10:15 a.m. Monday, killing three of the soldiers and injuring two others. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed ) (Khalid Mohammed - AP)

BAGHDAD -- A car bomb exploded Tuesday at an outdoor market in a Shiite area of Baghdad, killing 25 people and wounding at least 60 _ the deadliest in a string of attacks that stoked sectarian tension in and around the capital.

The blast occurred in Amil, one of a cluster of neighborhoods in southwestern Baghdad where Sunni-Shiite tension is running high three months after the start of the U.S.-led security crackdown.

Following the blast, terrified survivors ran through the streets hauling buckets and pots of water to try to put out fires in shops that were shattered by the bomb. Volunteers tore through the rubble, searching for survivors.

Sami Hussein, 25, was heading to the market with her 5-year-old son when she heard the explosion, "followed by gray and black smoke, which engulfed the market and made me to fall on the ground."

She suffered shrapnel wounds in her face and legs.

"I lost my son, and have no idea about his fate," she said. Medical officials at the hospital said he died in the blast.

Fadhil Hussein, 32, who sells spices in the market, said he was thrown from his stall and wounded with shrapnel in his back and head.

"I found myself in a pickup truck with other people. Some of them were bleeding and yelling," he said.

No group claimed responsibility for the blast. But U.S. officials believe Sunni extremists are stepping up car bombings, especially against Shiite civilians, to enflame sectarian hatred and undermine public confidence in government security forces.

There were other signs Tuesday that Sunni-Shiite tensions are again rising after they eased last winter following the start of the Baghdad security operation Feb. 14.

In north Baghdad, gunmen wearing army uniforms stopped a bus carrying college students to a Shiite neighborhood, entered the vehicle and sprayed the passengers with gunfire, police said. Eight students were killed and two were wounded.

At another fake checkpoint near Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, gunmen killed six people from one family _ a woman, her 5-year-old son and four men _ and stole their car, police said. It was unclear whether the victims were Sunnis or Shiites.