BAGHDAD (AFP) – At least 26 people were killed in a string of attacks in Iraq on Wednesday, including two U.S. troops when an American soldier slapped an Iraqi soldier during the patrol and he opened fire in response.

In the deadliest single attack of the day, a booby-trapped car exploded, followed by another bomb blast at a bus station in the working class district of Baghdad al-Jadida in the east of the capital.
At least 12 people were killed and 60 wounded, an interior ministry official said.
In the northern city of Mosul, an Iraqi soldier on joint patrol with U.S. troops opened fire on his American comrades, killing two, the ministry said.
“During a patrol with the Iraqi army, an Iraqi soldier opened fire on the American soldiers at around 1300 hours (1000 GMT), killing two of them and wounding others,” a ministry statement said.
A ministry source said a U.S. soldier “slapped an Iraqi soldier during the patrol and he opened fire in response.”
U.S. military spokeswoman Major Margaret Kageleiry said of the incident: “Two U.S. soldiers have been killed today in Mosul. I can't make further comment.”
Two Christian sisters were also slain by gunmen who broke into their home in Mosul and wired it with bombs.
Another 10 people were killed in a string of bombings in Baghdad, which has seen near-daily attacks in recent days despite an overall improvement in security over the past year.
On Monday 28 people were killed and dozens wounded in a triple attack in a market in the district of Adhamiyah, the bloodiest since June.
In Mosul, the intruders killed sisters Lamia and Walaa Sabih and wounded their mother before booby-trapping the house. When police arrived a bomb went off, wounding two of them, an officer said on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. military said in a statement that five bombs were placed in the home and two exploded.
The two women -- one of whom was the mother of three children -- both worked for the provincial council, which released a statement condemning the attack.
More than 2,000 Christian families fled Mosul in October after a wave of killings in the city.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday that some Christians were starting to return, with around a third of the families in one neighborhood having come back to their homes.