At least 19 people, including four soldiers, were killed in a suicide bombing today, as gunmen in military fatigues kidnapped 29 people, the latest victims of the violence and lawlessness sweeping Iraq, police said.

Unidentified assailants shot a senior intelligence official dead in his car today and police discovered the bullet riddled bodies of three men, a day after gunmen beheaded five people.

Police in Iraq today discovered the bodies of two men, shot in the head and chest, a day after gunmen beheaded four policemen and a lawyer.