At least 20 people were killed and dozens more were wounded when snipers opened fire from rooftops and a cemetery in a series of attacks on a Shiite religious procession in Baghdad.

VIOLENCE in Iraq overshadowed a public holiday yesterday to mark the third anniversary of Baghdad’s fall to US forces.

Last-minute negotiations to address Sunni Arab objections to Iraq’s draft constitution resumed today, with only four days left before the charter is put to a nationwide vote that will determine the course of the country’s transition to democratic rule.

The leader of Iraq’s top Sunni party has been released after being mistakenly detained earlier today by US forces, the American military said.