A car bomb has exploded in the trouble spot of Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, leaving five dead and 20 wounded, according to hospital reports.
Meanwhile, the US military swept Mosul for insurgents today after an attack by Islamic militants on an army mess tent that killed 22 people, mostly Americans.
A team of FBI experts was dispatched to Mosul from Baghdad to determine whether a rocket or on-site explosives caused the massive fireball that burned down the canvas facility.
ABC News, quoting unidentified sources, reported that 'a backpack found by investigators at the site and remnants of a torso indicate the attack was caused by a suicide bombing'.
Al-Qaeda linked militants who claimed responsibility for the attack said it was a suicide bombing against 'American crusaders'.
The explosion ripped through the base's dining hall when staff were seated for lunch.
US President George W Bush mourned the victims and said they died serving a 'vital mission for peace' to build a democracy in the violence-plagued country, and vowed that the attack would not derail that goal.
Of the 22 people killed, 14 were American military personnel, four were US civilians and the other four were members of the Iraqi security forces, the military said. Seventy-two others were wounded.
