Gunmen killed 23 members of an ancient religious sect in northern Iraq after stopping their bus and separating followers of other faiths, as car bombings in the capital killed at least another 20 people.

Gunmen killed 23 members of the Yazidi religious minority in northern Iraq today, after stopping their bus and separating out followers of other faiths, police said.

A top Iraqi insurgent leader today claimed in an audiotape posted online that his al-Qaida-linked group had begun manufacturing its own rockets.