Mortar attack kills civilian in Baghdad

Mortar barrage stuck a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in southern Baghdad on Saturday,killing a civilian and wounding four others, an Interior Ministry source said.

"Two mortar rounds landed on the Abu Dsheir neighborhood at about 8:00 a.m. (0500 GMT)," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

In addition, the source said police patrols collected 26 unidentified bodies from different parts of the capital on Friday, and some of the bullet-riddled bodies were bound, blindfolded, showing signs of torture.

Violence persists in Baghdad despite the presence of tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers across the capital in a major security crackdown aimed at curbing insurgency and sectarian violence in the war-torn country.

Source: Xinhua