BAGHDAD, Dec 25 (Reuters) - A car bomb near a popular restaurant killed four people and wounded 25 in northwestern Baghdad on Christmas Day on Thursday, police said. The explosion in the Shi'ite district of Shula occurred while policemen and labourers were eating breakfast. The casualties included both policemen and civilians, police said. The Shi'ite-led Iraqi government had declared Thursday a national holiday to show what it said was its solidarity with other religious groups in Iraq. Violence has dropped sharply in Iraq, where the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 unleashed years of sectarian and insurgent attacks. But car bombs, suicide bombs and assassinations are still routine. A week ago, twin bomb blasts killed 18 people and wounded 53 in central Baghdad. (Writing by Aseel Kami; Editing by Michael Christie and Sami Aboudi)
Supporters of Pakistan Labor Party burn an effigy of U.S. President George W. Bush during a demonstration in support of Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who threw his shoes at U.S. President ...
