A roadside bomb blast near a mobile phone shop in central Baghdad killed at least five people and injured 17 Sunday, police said. The bomb went off at about 11:15 a.m. near Tahrir Square in the center of the city, police Lt. Ali Metaab said.
In the city of Kut, meanwhile, six bodies bearing signs of torture were uncovered in the Tigris River. The bodies had been blindfolded and had their hands and feet tied, said Maamoun Ajil al-Rubai, an official with the hospital morgue where the bodies were taken.
In another development, an Iraqi court has convicted 38 people of charges related to the "insurgency," including kidnapping and murder, the U.S. Army said. Their sentences ranged from six months to life. According to the AP, the 38 were tried at the Central Criminal Court of Iraq on Aug. 25, it said in a statement released late Saturday night.
Six people were sentenced to life imprisonment - three for kidnapping, two for "joining armed groups to unsettle the stability and security of Iraq" and one for shooting and killing a coalition armed forces member, the statement said.
A Saudi national was convicted of entering Iraq illegally and received a 15-year sentence.
