Baghdad police chief survives bombing

Baghdad: The chief of the Baghdad police, Major General Ali Yasser, survived a car bomb attack on his motorcade in the centre of the Iraqi capital on Saturday, sources at police headquarters said.

The explosion in a parked car in Karrada district killed one bystander and wounded three others, as well as wounding three policemen.

The police chief was not hurt. US forces said they had detained an Al Qaida cell leader on Friday in southern Baghdad.

"The terrorist is allegedly responsible for coordinating and conducting kidnapping, torture and murders of Iraqi civilians and security forces," a US statement said.

Meanwhile, US troops killed four people and captured a fifth in raids targeting suspected bomb makers in the Iraqi capital, the military said.

The four were killed after they fled from American forces and took refuge in a building, where they refused to surrender, the military said in a statement.

US troops found a fifth armed man hiding in a ditch and detained him, it said.