Iraqi authorities say at least three car bombs have exploded in a commercial section of Baghdad, killing at least 15 people.
Police say about 50 others were wounded in the early (Thursday) morning blasts -- which occurred within minutes of each other -- in the predominantly Shi'ite district of Karrada.
Another Shi'ite district (Shuala) of the Iraqi capital was hit Wednesday by several near-simultaneous car bombings that left at least 18 people dead and 48 others wounded.
Meanwhile, in an Internet posting, the al-Qaida in Iraq terror group said that a Saudi militant has been killed in battles against U.S. forces in western Iraq.
The statement, whose authenticity could not be immediately verified, identified the dead man as Sheikh Abdullah al-Roshoud, who is on a Saudi wanted list of senior al-Qaida operatives.
In another development, a reporter for VOA's Kurdish service says Iraqi authorities have expelled a French freelance journalist (Ann Sufi). Reasons for the expulsion were not immediately known.