Gunmen ambushed a convoy carrying Shiite Muslim pilgrims home from Saudi Arabia in central Iraq today, killing at least nine people, a provincial governor said.

Bomb attacks on markets in predominantly Shiite neighbourhoods of Baghdad killed at least 16 people, among 38 Iraqis killed or found dead across Iraq today in the latest outbreak of sectarian violence.

Iraqis zeroed in today on President George Bush’s pledge to stay the course in Iraq, with some expressing anger that he didn’t announce a troop withdrawal and others believing the Americans had little choice but to stick it out here to prevent civil war.

Since the images of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison first appeared, several Iraqi men have spoken out about their ordeals at US-run detention centres. Women, however, have been silent.