Meanwhile...

Iraq:

At least 60 people have been killed and 131 injured in two car bombs in a Shia district of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, police sources have said.

The blasts ripped through a market in the city's New Baghdad area. Two people died in another blast in Sadr City.

The attacks are the deadliest since a joint US-Iraqi security offensive was launched on Wednesday.

Afghanistan:

A U.S. helicopter suffered a "sudden, unexplained loss of power" and crashed Sunday in southeastern Afghanistan, killing eight American troops, the military said. Fourteen people on board survived.

A NATO spokesman denied the helicopter had been shot down, saying the pilot had radioed ahead to report engine problems. It was the worst U.S. crash in Afghanistan since last May.