Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki today promised to crack down on sectarian gangs in Basra and declared a month-long state of emergency in the southern city amid increasing violence in the restive region.

Two people have been detained in connection with the kidnapping of two Algerian diplomats last week, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said today.

Gunmen shot dead five policemen in a drive-by shooting in the Iraqi capital today, one day after authorities said they’d found dozens of corpses – some bullet-riddled, others beheaded – at two sites in the insurgent-wracked country.