A series of explosions rocked Baghdad shortly before curfew began on Thursday, including a suicide car bomber reportedly targeting a U.S. convoy and a bombing near a soda store that killed at least two civilians, police said. The late-night violence began about 9:10 p.m. when a parked motorcycle exploded near a soda shop in the southeastern area of Zafaraniyah, killing two people and wounding four, police said, according to AP. About 20 minutes later, a suicide car bomber targeted a U.S. convoy in a predominantly Shiite area in central Baghdad, police said. The blast sent up huge plume of smoke about half an hour before the nightly curfew was to begin at 10 p.m. Iraqi police said the bomber detonated his explosives as a U.S. convoy was passing near Karamanah Square, a popular area in the mainly Shiite neighborhood of Karradah. The U.S. military said it had no immediate information on the blast. U.S. troops were sealing off the area, police said, adding they had no information about casualties. -- SPA
