Bombs kill 20 in Iraq

Bombs killed 20 people in Iraq yesterday, including 15 in Baghdad, police said, as US President George Bush said his resolve …

Bombs killed 20 people in Iraq yesterday, including 15 in Baghdad, police said, as US President George Bush said his resolve to press on with the job of stabilizing Iraq was as strong as ever.

Police said a parked car exploded near a police station in Baghdad's Shi'ite area of Sadr City at dusk, when people were shopping. The blast killed 15 people and wounded 45, they said.

Another explosion at a market in the holy Shi'ite town of Kufa, possibly caused by a roadside bomb, killed five people and wounded eight, police said.

The bombs were a reminder of Iraq's security headaches despite a reduction in violence following Bush's decision early this year to send 30,000 additional troops to Iraq.

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Mr Bush, visiting wounded soldiers at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii as he headed back to Washington from an overseas trip, said he told them he was encouraged by what he saw during his unannounced trip to Iraq last Monday.

"There's no question there's still hard work to do. But my resolve is as strong as it has ever been," Bush told reporters.

Bush used his Saturday radio address to appeal for patience from opposition Democratic lawmakers demanding a timetable for a troop withdrawal.

The coming week could be a pivotal period in the unpopular war.

Starting on Monday, the US commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker will give an assessment to the Democratic-led Congress on Iraq's security and political progress under Bush's troop "surge."

Mr Bush's administration has to give its own report to Congress by next Saturday.

"I urge the members of Congress to listen to these two well-respected professionals - before jumping to any conclusions," Mr Bush said.

The testimony by Gen Petraeus and Mr Crocker will be vital to any decision Mr Bush takes on troop numbers in the face of demands from Democrats and some senior Republicans for US forces to start leaving Iraq.

Fresh from his visit to Iraq, where he raised the possibility of cutting troop levels, Mr Bush said he would make his own case in a televised address after Petraeus and Crocker deliver their reports. CNN said Mr Bush would speak on Thursday.