A blast Sunday north of Baghdad killed three people and injured five others. Police said a car bomb went off near a high school in Samarra, about 100 kms north of the Iraqi capital.
Elsewhere, a car bomb exploded early Sunday near a U.S. military convoy on the road leading to Baghdad's airport, Iraqi police said, and a witness said two Humvees were destroyed.
U.S. troops sealed off the area, said Lt. Saad el-Azzawi. He said it was not immediately clear whether the blast caused any casualties.
However, Fadhil Jawad, who watched the attack from the roof of his home, said he saw a late-model luxury car overtake the six-vehicle convoy moments before exploding in a ball of fire, AP reported.
Two of the Humvees were destroyed in the explosion and the rest veered off the road, he said. Two Blackhawk helicopters evacuated several wounded soldiers, Jawad said.
Meanwhile, Japan's defense chief said Sunday that Japanese troops should remain in Iraq until the country is properly rehabilitated, possibly until late 2005.
An estimated 500 Japanese troops are helping to rebuild infrastructure in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah, and their mandate is set to expire on December 14. The government was planning to assess the situation in Samawah before deciding on a possible extension.
Asked about a possible withdrawal of Japanese troops, Defense Minister Takahiro Ono said that several factors had to be considered, including whether they had fulfilled their mission to help rebuild the war-torn country.
"Another factor to consider is that a mission by multinational troops expires next December — that could be one cutoff point," Ono said during an appearance on a morning news program by public broadcaster NHK. Ono was referring to a December 2005 deadline for the mandate of multinational forces in Iraq under a United Nations Security Council resolution.
