A double truck bombing tore through a Shiite community near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul today, while a series of blasts struck Baghdad in a wave of pre-dawn violence which killed at least 40 people, according to officials.

Iraqi troops will be ready to take charge of security in the country by the end of next year, so this month’s UN Security Council extension of the mandate for multinational force in Iraq could be the last, Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said today.

Four explosions ripped through Baghdad today, killing at least 28 people and injuring dozens on the eve of Shiite Islam’s holiest festival.

Mordechai Vanunu was released from prison today after serving 18 years for spilling Israel’s nuclear secrets, saying he was proud of his actions and complaining he was treated cruelly by his jailers.