Witnesses say at least one U.S. military vehicle was hit in Wednesday morning's blast, but it was not clear if there were American casualties. The blast also wounded three people.

Separately, the U.S. military reported the deaths of three American soldiers, who were killed Tuesday in separate incidents in northern Iraq.

The military said two soldiers died and four were wounded in a roadside explosion in Diyala province. The third soldier was shot and killed near the city of Mosul, north of Baghdad.

Earlier, the U.S. military said Iraqi Special Forces detained several extremists, including two alleged al-Qaida leaders, during separate raids on Monday in areas around Baghdad, and in the northern city of Taji.

In other news, prominent Iraqi Shi'ite lawmaker Bahaa al-Araji called Tuesday for Iraq's parliament to be dissolved and for new elections to be held. Al-Araji, who is a member of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's political bloc, said he was expressing his personal view and not that of his bloc. - VOA News