Iraqi forces clashed with Shiite militias in the southern oil port of Basra today as a security plan to clamp down on violence between rival militia factions in the region began.

Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki warned today that carving up his country into self-ruled regions could lead to more strife and the country’s break-up.

Attacks have plunged by 90% in southern Iraq since Britain withdrew its troops from the main city of Basra, their commander has said.

A roadside bomb exploded near a minibus full of Shiite civilians today, killing at least three people and wounding nine as they went to visit relatives south of Baghdad, police said.

Eight Iraqi civilians were killed and four others were wounded when a suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden fuel tanker was fatally shot by police and his truck blew up near police headquarters in Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, police said today.

Tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims defied fears of violence and converged around a gold-domed mosque in the first major religious procession since Shiite battles turned a procession into a scene of bloodshed.

Sporadic gunfire echoed through the centre of Karbala in Iraq early today after clashes between rival Shiite militias claimed up to 51 lives.

A roadside bomb killed the governor of Muthanna province in southern Iraq today, police said.

US troops clashed with suspected Sunni insurgents holed up in a mosque north of Baghdad and launched an air-to-ground Hellfire missile into the structure.