Iraqi insurgency kills four amid calls for help to bring stability

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraq's insurgency claimed more Iraqi and American lives when a bomb exploded in a busy shopping street here as a US army convoy passed by, underscoring calls for more help to bring stability to the war-wracked country.

At least four Iraqis were killed and 15 wounded in the explosion, near a mosque used by Sunni Muslims in southeast Baghdad, hospital staff told AFP.

The US-led coalition said at least one US soldier was killed, after witnesses reported seeing as many as three hurt.

The blast, the latest in a succession of attacks on both civilian and military targets, came a day after US Secretary of State Colin Powell called on NATO to take a greater role "to support peace and stability."

The US-led coalition had also acknowledged recruiting former militiamen to help restore order.

Powell noted that the 19-member alliance has already provided logistical support to the Polish division of a multinational force in Iraq and that 16 NATO members are part of the coalition there.

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