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BAGHDAD, Nov 14 (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed one civilian and wounded two on Wednesday just outside the heavily fortified Green Zone compound in Baghdad that houses the U.S. embassy and government ministries, police said.

They said the bomb targeted a passing U.S. military convoy. One humvee vehicle had been hit, police said, but it was unclear if there were any American casualties.

The explosion was one of the loudest heard in the capital in weeks. Violence has dropped sharply in Baghdad in recent months following a big increase in American troops this year.

One witness at a hotel inside the Green Zone said the force of the blast shook dust off the outside walls of the building.

U.S. President George W. Bush sent an extra 30,000 troops to Iraq earlier this year to take part in an offensive seen as a final attempt to halt the country's slide into civil war.

When the offensive began in February, Iraq was gripped by dozens of bombing and shooting attacks nearly every day. Since American reinforcements were fully deployed in the middle of the year, attacks have fallen sharply and the sound of bombs and mortar attacks in Baghdad has become less frequent. (Writing by Dean Yates; Editing by Stephen Weeks)

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