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Iraq attacks kill at least 16Rumsfeld says seized explosives 'clearly' from Iran
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSBAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Insurgents launched a string of attacks Tuesday in Iraq, killing at least 16 people -- including 10 Iraqi police and a U.S. soldier. A suicide car bomber targeted a U.S. military convoy near the Tayaran Square Tuesday afternoon in central Baghdad. The blast killed one U.S. soldier and three civilians, an Iraqi police official said. Two U.S. soldiers and 50 civilians were wounded, the official said. A U.S. military spokesman with the 3rd Infantry Division confirmed the military casualties. Earlier, a string of drive-by shootings killed 10 Iraqi police officers and wounded six, police said. The six attacks -- five in Baghdad and one in Baquba -- took place between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. (11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. EDT). Tuesday evening, two civilians were killed and four others were wounded in a mortar attack near a Shiite mosque in Baghdad, according to Iraqi police. On Monday, a U.S. Marine died as a result of small arms fire during combat operations in Ramadi, according to a military news release. The Marine was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). The death brings the total number of American troops killed in Iraq this month to 37. Of those, 26 were Marines. The total number of U.S. service members killed since the war began is 1,835. Explosives from Iran seizedU.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday that weapons recently confiscated in Iraq were "clearly, unambiguously from Iran." The shipment of sophisticated bombs was confiscated in the past two weeks by U.S. and Iraqi troops in southern Iraq, senior U.S. officials said Monday. Although he would not comment on whether the Iranian government was directly involved, Rumsfeld said, "it's notably unhelpful for Iranians to be letting those weapons cross the border." The U.S. officials said the devices were more lethal and more sophisticated than the improvised explosive devices typically used by Iraqi insurgents. After examining the truckload of devices, intelligence analysts said the explosive parts are similar to those used by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. While there is no evidence Iran's government sanctioned the weapons shipment, the analysts said it may indicate a rogue element inside Iran is making the weapons and trying to ship them to Iraq's insurgents. Troops found the devices inside crates seized near a border crossing on the Iraqi side, the officials said. Three senior U.S. officials told CNN the devices were made in such a way that their blast would have been focused in a single direction, thereby increasing their lethality. One official said the shipment included "tens" of devices. Baghdad mayor firedThe Baghdad provisional council dismissed mayor Alaa al-Timimi on Monday and sent armed personnel to his office to install his temporary replacement, officials told CNN on Tuesday. The reasons for the dismissal were not disclosed. Mohammed al-Rubaie, the governor's adviser of Baghdad, said that responsibility for running the city was temporarily transferred to provincial governor Hussein al-Tahaan until the council can elect a new mayor. That should take place in the next few days, he said. Al-Timimi would not discuss his dismissal, but said he will submit his resignation Wednesday to the Council of Ministries. Iraqi police said 41 armed members of Iraq's Facility Protection Services surrounded al-Timimi's office to install al-Tahaan. Al-Timimi was not there at the time. CNN's Cal Perry, Aneesh Raman, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Barbara Starr contributed to this report. 
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