Suicide car bomb kills two

BAGHDAD- A suicide car bomber targeting a Baghdad gas station killed two people yesterday, a day after dozens died across the country as the US president insisted American troops must stay in Iraq until the job is done.

Despite the continuing bloodshed, US authorities have expressed optimism that Iraqi forces will be ready to assume control of security operations with little coalition support within 18 months. Still, this would not necessarily mean a withdrawal of US troops.”If we leave the streets of Baghdad before the job is done, we will have to face the terrorists in our own cities,” US President George Bush said Wednesday as he prepared for a series of war speeches.”We will stay the course, we will help this young Iraqi democracy succeed and victory in Iraq will be a major ideological triumph in the struggle of the 21st century.”In Baghdad, a suicide car bomb targeting a line of cars waiting at a Baghdad gas station killed two people and wounded 13, police Captain Mohammed Abdul-Ghani said.US forces took three of the wounded to their nearby base because their injuries were severe, while the others were taken to a local hospital, he said.Due to a severe fuel shortage, lines of cars at Baghdad gas stations often stretch for several kilometres, and drivers sometimes have to wait overnight to fill their cars.Earlier in the day, a bomb exploded near a restaurant on Palestine Street, a main avenue in the east of the capital and the frequent site of explosions targeting US and Iraqi forces.The US military reported an American soldier was killed north of the capital on Wednesday by a bomb blast while conducting a route security mission.It did not give details of the location.Meanwhile, US authorities released more than 30 detainees.The men were taken to a central bus station in the capital.Authorities did not give any details of what they had been detained for, or how long they had been held.Nampa-APStill, this would not necessarily mean a withdrawal of US troops.”If we leave the streets of Baghdad before the job is done, we will have to face the terrorists in our own cities,” US President George Bush said Wednesday as he prepared for a series of war speeches.”We will stay the course, we will help this young Iraqi democracy succeed and victory in Iraq will be a major ideological triumph in the struggle of the 21st century.”In Baghdad, a suicide car bomb targeting a line of cars waiting at a Baghdad gas station killed two people and wounded 13, police Captain Mohammed Abdul-Ghani said.US forces took three of the wounded to their nearby base because their injuries were severe, while the others were taken to a local hospital, he said.Due to a severe fuel shortage, lines of cars at Baghdad gas stations often stretch for several kilometres, and drivers sometimes have to wait overnight to fill their cars.Earlier in the day, a bomb exploded near a restaurant on Palestine Street, a main avenue in the east of the capital and the frequent site of explosions targeting US and Iraqi forces.The US military reported an American soldier was killed north of the capital on Wednesday by a bomb blast while conducting a route security mission.It did not give details of the location.Meanwhile, US authorities released more than 30 detainees.The men were taken to a central bus station in the capital.Authorities did not give any details of what they had been detained for, or how long they had been held.Nampa-AP