Baghdad car bomb kills 20 amid talk of factional progress

BAGHDAD -- A parked-car bomb exploded at rush hour today in a busy bus station in southwest Baghdad, killing at least 20 people a day after America's No. 2 diplomat in Iraq predicted progress by fall on bringing together Iraq's feuding factions.

The blast went off at 8:15 a.m. in Baghdad's Baiyaa neighborhood, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

On Wednesday, at least 60 Iraqis were killed or found dead across the country, most of them in the Baghdad area, according to police reports. A late-night car bombing near a Shiite shrine in the capital left 14 people dead.

The U.S. command said one American soldier was killed and four were wounded in a roadside bombing in east Baghdad.

U.S. officials have been pressing the Iraqis to enact a series of laws designed to bring together the country's warring factions, curb the violence and arrest the slide in support for the U.S. mission among the American people and Congress.

During a news conference Wednesday, the second-ranking U.S. diplomat in Iraq said he was hopeful that the Iraqis would make progress on "some" legislation by September. That's when Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker are to submit a report on prospects for ending the violence.

"We're in a very significant period of political turmoil. ... But we do expect Iraqis to work through these issues," U.S. diplomat Daniel Speckhard told reporters. "My expectations are still that they'll rise to the challenge of producing some key legislation by September."

Despite talk of progress, violence continued Wednesday.

In the deadliest attack, at least 14 people were killed and 22 were wounded when a parked car exploded late Wednesday near a major Shiite shrine in the Kazimiyah district of northern Baghdad, police said.

Elsewhere, five policemen were killed in a bombing in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, police said. Four other policemen died when gunmen attacked a police station in the Bashir area about 15 miles south of Kirkuk, police Brig. Sarhat Qadir said.

Five people died and 10 were wounded when a bomb planted under a car exploded in north Baghdad, police said. Three of the injured were police and the other victims were civilians, police said.