VIOLENCE killed at least 42 people yesterday, including 16 bus passengers caught in a roadside bombing in southern Iraq, after the deadliest day for US troops in precisely six months.

Iraqi army reinforcements moved into positions near the northern city of Mosul today, ready to strike al-Qaida in Iraq targets in their last urban stronghold.

HUNDREDS of people, including many children, chanted slogans praising Saddam Hussein as they tossed flowers on to his tomb one year after he was executed.

Hundreds of people, including many children, chanted slogans praising Saddam Hussein as they tossed flowers on to his tomb one year after he was executed.

A parked car bomb exploded in a crowded area near a medical complex in Baghdad today, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 30, officials said. It was the latest in an increase in violence in the heart of the Iraqi capital.

Violence is down 55% in Iraq since the US troop build-up began this summer, but it is unclear what role Iran played in the downturn, US officials said today, tempering recent optimism about Tehran’s waning support for militants with warnings that more needs to be done.