An Iraqi soldier was killed and 11 people were wounded in an overnight double bomb explosions which struck the Iraqi army in a Sunni neighborhood in western Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source and a witness said on Saturday, Xinhua reported.
The attack took place at about 11:00 p.m. on Friday (2000 GMT) when a bomb exploded in Baghdad's western neighborhood of al- Khadraa near a crowd of Iraqi soldiers and civilians who gathered near a previous explosion at the scene, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Six soldiers were among the wounded people, the source said.
Iraqi security forces sealed off the neighborhood, which is already surrounded with concrete walls, and blocked its sole entrance, preventing vehicles and pedestrians from entering or leaving, the source added.
"Hundreds of soldiers and dozens of vehicles deployed in the neighborhood, while the soldiers were conducting search operation in dozens of houses in the neighborhood since the dawn," a resident from the neighborhood identified himself as Abu Mohammed told Xinhua.
Until the hours before Saturday midday, the neighborhood was still blocked, only for some individuals and vehicles who were allowed to leave or enter after checking them and scrutinizing their purpose of moving, said Abu Mohammed who was himself allowed to leave after checking and showing his ID as a government employee.
Many of Baghdad neighborhoods have been surrounded by 3-meter high barrier walls, dividing the city into smaller areas that are supposed to protect people from bombings, sniper fire and kidnappings, despite the complaints of Baghdadis who see the security walls as a daily reminder that their Baghdad has turned into a prison-like city in which its communities are separated from each other.
Violence and sporadic high-profile attacks are still common in Iraqi cities as part of recent deterioration in security which shaped a setback to the efforts of the Iraqi government to restore normalcy in the country more than six months after violence-torn Iraq held parliamentary elections on March 7.