BAGHDAD - A BOMB planted in a cafe in a mostly Shi'ite district of southwest Baghdad killed nine people and wounded 31 others on Wednesday, police said.
The cafe was popular with poker players, residents said.
Violence has fallen sharply in Iraq in the past year, and the number of civilians killed in May was the lowest monthly death toll since the 2003 invasion, but Iraqi and US forces have yet to completely stamp out a stubborn insurgency.
Shi'ite districts and festivals are often targeted by Sunni Islamist groups, who consider Shi'ites heretics. Analysts say violence may also increase ahead of national elections due in January, which could pit Shi'ite groups against each other.
Suicide bombers killed at least 22 people, including three US soldiers, in the Iraqi capital and the northern city of Kirkuk on May 21. The attack on US soldiers in a crowded market was one of the deadliest for the US military in months.
Such bombings raise doubts about the Iraqi security forces' ability to stand alone as US combat forces prepare to withdraw from Iraqi cities by the end of June.
All US personnel are due to leave Iraq by the end of 2011, as scheduled in a security pact signed by Washington and Baghdad last year. -- REUTERS
