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Explosion Near Iraqi Shi'ite Shrine Kills 7


Iraqi police said a bomb blast near the most important Shi'ite shrine in Baghdad has killed seven people and wounded 23 others.

The attack took place Wednesday near the shrine of Imam Mousa al-Kazim in the Kadhimiyah neighborhood.

A car bomb blast in the same district killed at least eight people on Tuesday, just hours before U.S. President Barack Obama made an unannounced stop in Iraq.

Mr. Obama spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani and Kurdistan Regional President Massoud Barzani.

Iraq's government has blamed a string of recent attacks in mostly Shi'ite areas on al-Qaida and supporters of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

An Iraqi spokesman, Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, said Wednesday that Iraqi authorities were reviewing files of detainees recently released by U.S. forces to see if some might be linked to the recent bombings.

The U.S. military has been freeing or transferring prisoners to Iraqi custody to meet the requirements of a security agreement that took effect January 1.

Meanwhile, Iraqi police imposed a strict curfew on the city of Fallujah Wednesday. Cars and pedestrians were banned from the city's streets starting at dawn as police conducted investigations following recent violence in the city. It was unclear when the curfew would be lifted.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

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