A pair of suicide bombs ripped through a crowd of would-be police recruits in Baghdad on today, killing at least 35.

Hours before the second-ever Iraq National Assembly session, politicians have yet to pick a parliament speaker, with wrangling over bringing in Sunni Arabs - a step seen as key to quelling the Sunni-led insurgency – prolonging negotiations to form a new government.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near the central city of Ramadi, killing 11 Iraqi police commandos and injuring 14 other people including two US Army soldiers, the US military said today.