CNN BREAKING NEWS: TWO U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED IN SADR CITY AND TWO AMERICAN CIVILIANS:VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN MOSUL AFTER "ROSY" REPORT BY BRIT HUME

U.S. Embassy staff, soldiers killed in Baghdad blast

One American soldier was killed and three more were wounded during a small arms attack just outside Baghdad in Madaen on Monday. One gunman was killed and an Iraqi interpreter was wounded. The soldiers were attending a local council meeting when a disgruntled official opened fire on them.

In Mosul, gunmen killed a policeman and a woman; two civilians were also wounded. A university student was killed in a drive-by shooting. An off-duty policeman was shot dead while at a market. Three Iraqi soldiers were wounded as they were trying to defuse a bomb. A bomb exploded near an army patrol, wounding an Iraqi soldier and five civilians. Also, two suspects were arrested and a weapons cache was confiscated.

The Mosul attacks came on the same day FOX NEWS' BRIT HUME ran a report on his "SPECIAL REPORT" claiming violence had been brought under control in MOSUL.

Story Highlights
Official: Civilians include U.S. State and Defense Department employees
Military says it caught fleeing suspect who "tested positive for explosive residue"
Blast comes day after gunmen kill local political leader in Baghdad Shiite enclave
U.S. military will transfer security responsibilities in Anbar province to Iraqi military

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An explosion rocked a municipal building Tuesday in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, killing six Iraqis, two U.S. soldiers and two civilian U.S. Embassy employees, officials said.
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The U.S. military said troops detained a suspect in connection with the attack. The person was captured "fleeing the scene and tested positive for explosive residue," the military said.

The embassy official said the American civilians include "a direct hire civilian employee of the Department of State and a Department of Defense civilian employee."

The blast occurred during a meeting of the district advisory council in Sadr City, and U.S. troops were in the area, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said. The groups are neighborhood councils that assess local needs and pass on their assessments to the provincial government.

"We believe the target of the attack was a high-ranking [district advisory council] member as well as the U.S. soldiers," said Lt. Col. Steve Stover, a U.S. military spokesman.

An Interior Ministry official said six Iraqis were killed and 10 were wounded in the attack, including the deputy head of the council -- who was seriously injured.

The U.S. military confirmed the deaths, saying an American-led coalition soldier and three council members also were wounded. There have been 4,106 U.S. service members killed since the Iraq war began.

The military blamed Iranian-backed militants that U.S. officials call Special Groups for Tuesday's attack.

"We believe the Special Groups criminals were upset that the DAC member was working with coalition forces to improve the quality of life for the southern Sadr City residents," Stover said.

The explosion follows a Pentagon report issued Monday that touted a sharp decrease in violence in Iraq in recent months.

Sadr City is the stronghold of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and has seen some of the capital's most intense fighting between Shiite militia members and security forces.

Al-Sadr recently announced his intention to develop a fighting force that would battle U.S.-led forces in Iraq.

A truce was reached last month between the government and al-Sadr's followers, ending weeks of fighting and allowing the Iraqi army to enter Sadr City, but violence persists.

Tuesday's blast comes after gunmen stormed the house of the head of Abu Dsheer City Council on Monday night and fatally shot him.

Mehdi Alwan was an al-Sadr supporter. Abu Dsheer is a Shiite enclave in southern Baghdad's predominantly Sunni Dora district.