Two roadside bombs went off in a Baghdad street that was crowded with civilians on Wednesday, killing at least four people and wounding 25, police said. The bombings occurred in the Diyala Bridge district of southern Baghdad. It is in a mainly Shi'ite Muslim part of the capital.
Police sources said the bombs exploded almost simultaneously near a busy market in an area where people had gathered for transport to their jobs. Some police sources put the death toll as high as eight.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday ordered new measures to improve government oversight of private guards who protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq, including tighter rules of engagement and a board to investigate any future killings.
The changes to rules of engagement would bring the State Department closer to military rules, the AP reported. The State Department's rules for contractors' use of force were more detailed in some respects.
The moves will not have much visible effect on the way private guards operate in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq: They will still escort diplomats in highly armed convoys like the one involved in the Sept. 16 deaths of 17 Iraqis in a Baghdad square.
The State Department will set up panels that include security officials and others to look into each shooting or other use of deadly force by private guards and organize rapid response teams to investigate shooting incidents.
