Deadly violence continued Thursday in Iraq with at least 40 people killed or found dead across the country.
The deadliest incident occurred in Baghdad's Sadr City where seven people were killed, and 45 others wounded, when a motorcycle rigged with explosives blew up in a market.
The attack came a few days after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the lifting of a U.S.-Iraqi security blockade in Sadr City, a Shi'ite stronghold. The blockade was part of a search for an American soldier, of Iraqi descent, who was kidnapped last week.
The U.S. military says there have been ongoing talks aimed at freeing the soldier. Elsewhere, the U.S. military says three coalition soldiers died when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad. A separate statement says a U.S. Marine died after suffering injuries during fighting Thursday in Al-Anbar Province.