Iraqi police say a car bomb killed six people in Baghdad today, ending a brief drop in violence while Iraq celebrated its first Asia Cup football championship.
Authorities say the blast in al-Tayran square wounded 30 others.
The bomb went off hours after the expiration of a vehicle ban that was in place for Sunday's football match in Jakarta. Last week, bomb attacks targeting football celebrations killed 50 people in Baghdad.
In other developments, British charity Oxfam says violence in Iraq is masking a deepening humanitarian crisis. It says 28 percent of Iraqi children are malnourished and 70 percent of Iraqis lack clean drinking water.
Iraq's parliament adjourned for its summer recess today until September 4th -- days before the top U.S. military and diplomatic officials in Iraq are to brief Congress with an assessment of the war and progress on political reconciliation.
Also today, a quarterly audit by the U.S. office that monitors reconstruction spending in Iraq says progress is being hampered by terrorist activity, high levels of corruption and political instability.
The Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction says that in three out of four reviews conducted this quarter, projects were not being properly carried out, posing threats to the condition of the facilities and to health and safety.
Today, the U.S. military announced the deaths of three soldiers in al-Anbar province last week. Two other U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq Sunday.