Woman stands at scene of car bomb explosion in Baghdad, 28 Feb 2007

Iraqi police say a car bomb blast in southern Baghdad has killed at least 10 people and wounded seven others.

Police say the explosion occurred Wednesday, on a commercial street in the Bayaa neighborhood of the capital.

Separately, gunmen killed two brothers of a prominent Sunni Arab politician in the restive Diyala province northeast of Baghdad. The attack took place in the town of Muqdadiya, a known insurgent stronghold

The U.S. military says soldiers killed eight suspected militants and captured six others in raids in and around Baghdad.

Britain's Defense Ministry says one British soldier was killed by gunfire while on patrol in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

Meanwhile, officials in Ramadi say an earlier report of 18 people killed in a truck bombing near a football (soccer) field on Tuesday was a mistake and that a similar attack in the city the day before led to the confusion.

On the diplomatic front, the United States Tuesday announced plans to attend regional meetings on Iraq that will include representatives from Iran and Syria.

Iraq has invited neighboring states, permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and the G-8 group of industrialized nations to the meetings.

U.S. officials say the first meeting will involve ambassadors and will be held in Baghdad in the first half of next month. In early April, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will attend a ministerial level meeting elsewhere in the region, to which the Iranian and Syrian foreign ministers are expected to be invited.

Rice said she hopes Iran and Syria will seize the opportunity to improve relations with Iraq, and to work for peace and stability in the region.