Violence dampens football victory

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Six people were killed and 28 wounded after a car bomb struck Tayaran Square in central Baghdad a day after Iraqis united in celebration of their soccer team's Asian Cup win.

Monday afternoon's attack happened in the commercial district hours after a temporary overnight curfew was lifted in the Iraqi capital in an effort to stem violence in the wake of the soccer celebrations, an Iraq Interior Ministry official told CNN.

Tayaran Square is a frequent target of insurgent attacks, most recently in late May when a parked car bomb killed 25 people.

Celebratory gunfire erupted across the capital Sunday when the country's national team won the Asian Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia, shutting out 1-0 three-time champions Saudi Arabia.

Iraqi state television showed the players, draped in Iraqi flags, hoisting pewter cups aloft as they reached out for the main trophy held by a player on a dais that had been set up in the field.

Confetti filled the air and fireworks lit up the night sky after the game. The Iraqi team's players ran a victory lap around the field before posing for photographs.

In the Jordanian capital of Amman, Iraqi exiles drove through the streets, waving Iraqi flags and honking their horns. Many said the team's victory represented a sign of unity among Iraqis.

"We are Shiite, Sunni, Kurd and Christian, we are all united," one woman told CNN.

Dozens of people died in soccer-related violence, some from celebratory gunfire and some from attacks, in the lead up to Sunday's final.

Stray bullets killed four people and wounded 17 others in the capital on Sunday, the Interior Ministry said. In an effort to prevent further violence, authorities banned vehicles from the streets of the capital as part of a curfew that began at 4 p.m. (8 a.m. ET) and ended at 6 a.m. Monday (10 p.m. Sunday ET).

The team is scheduled to return Wednesday to Baghdad, where they will be greeted by government officials and awarded a special gift from the prime minister, Iraq's Youth and Sports Minister Jasim Mohammed Jaafar said.

The U.S. military Monday announced the deaths of three soldiers fighting in Anbar province last week.

With the deaths, 3,651 U.S. military personnel have died in the Iraq war, including 72 in July.

Summer recess

Iraq's parliament will begin its shortened summer recess Tuesday, and will not return until September 4 -- days before a key report addressing U.S. military progress in Iraq.

Iraq's parliament has been criticized by U.S. officials for taking the break -- originally scheduled to last two months -- despite its inability to pass major legislation regarding issues such as energy resources and de-Baathification. E-mail to a friend