Iraqi insurgents unleashed a new wave of bombings across the country today, targeting security forces and civilians and killing at least 12 people, officials said.

A wave of car bombings targeting Shia pilgrims has killed at least 65 people and wounded another 200 in several cities across Iraq, in one of the deadliest attacks since US troops withdrew from the country.

Co-ordinated car bombings targeting Shiite pilgrims in four Iraqi cities killed at least 56 people today in the latest wave of sectarian-fuelled violence, officials said.

Twenty-eight people were killed and more than 100 others injured in bombings across Iraq today in a spate of violence that officials had dreaded in the days before Baghdad hosts the Arab world’s top leaders.

A rapid-fire series of explosions in and around Baghdad killed 16 people today, including 10 people who died when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of police officers, officials said.

A suicide car bomber crashed his vehicle into a barrier outside a police building in central Iraq this morning, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens more, officials said.

Iraq boosted security today following a string of attacks across the country that killed 119 people and wounded hundreds.

A SUICIDE bomber blew himself up outside a textile factory yesterday in a crowd that gathered after two car bombings at the same spot in the worst of a series of attacks that killed at least 84 people across Iraq, the deadliest day this year.

Dozens of people were killed today when two car bombs and a suicide bomber struck outside a textile factory.

Iraqi police and medical officials said a that car bomb in a crowded cattle market south of Baghdad this morning killed 10 people and injured 45 others.

Two people have died in a cholera outbreak in an Iraqi province south of Baghdad, indicating that water quality and sanitation remain poor in a country that has endured years of war, health officials said today.

Iraq’s largest collection of armour-piercing roadside bombs has been found south of Baghdad, the US military said.

Tens of thousands of Shiite protesters took to the streets today over the government’s crackdown against militias in Basra as heavy fighting between Iraqi security forces and gunmen erupted for a third day in the southern oil port and Baghdad.

Tens of thousands of Shiite protesters took to the streets today over the government's crackdown against militias in Basra as heavy fighting between Iraqi security forces and gunmen erupted for a third day in the southern oil port and Baghdad.

A roadside bomb struck a convoy carrying the police chief of a predominantly Shiite province south of Baghdad today, killing him and two of his bodyguards, police said.

A roadside bomb exploded near a minibus full of Shiite civilians today, killing at least three people and wounding nine as they went to visit relatives south of Baghdad, police said.

Two Iraqi suicide car bombers trying to murder a local police chief and a US-supporting Sunni leader killed at least 18 people today.

Tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims defied fears of violence and converged around a gold-domed mosque in the first major religious procession since Shiite battles turned a procession into a scene of bloodshed.

A parked car bomb exploded near a market in a predominantly Shiite area in Baghdad today, killing at least 21 people and wounding more than 60, police said.

At least 22 people were killed and dozens more wounded when a suicide car bomber struck the centre of a major Shiite city in southern Iraq today.

At least 20 people were killed and dozens more wounded when a suicide car bomber struck the centre of a major Shiite city in southern Iraq today.

At least 12 people were killed and 19 wounded when three parked cars exploded in a predominantly Shiite area of Baghdad today.

Suicide bombers have struck at a central Baghdad hotel and four other targets across Iraq today, in a surge of attacks that have left at least 29 people dead.

A suicide bomber blew himself up in a central Baghdad hotel today, killing seven people.

A suicide car bomber flattened a restaurant in a busy market in the Shiite holy city of Kufa this morning, killing at least 16 people and wounding 70 in an attack sure to further enflame tensions between Iraq’s Sunni and Shiite populations.

A parked car exploded near a hospital in Baghdad’s main Shiite district today - the deadliest in a series of bombings killed at least nine people and wounded dozens in Iraq, police said.

Shiite insurgents responsible for a sophisticated attack on US troops have been captured, the American military said today.

Attacks on Shiite pilgrims continued today in Iraq, with a roadside bomb killing at least seven people in southern Baghdad.

Iraqi police say up to 90 people have been killed in the suicide attack on Shiite pilgrims in Hillah.

The death toll from two suicide bombings in Iraq today has risen to 47, according to reports.

Two suicide bombers exploded themselves in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims south of Baghdad today, killing at least 10 people, Iraqi police said.

Iraqi forces today detained a senior Health Ministry official accused of corruption and helping to funnel millions of pounds to Shiite militiamen blamed for much of the recent sectarian violence in the capital, the US military said.

Eight people were killed in two car bombings today after a weekend of attacks left more than 130 people dead.

A suicide truck bomber struck a market in a predominantly Shiite area of Baghdad today, killing as many as 121 people among the crowd buying food for evening meals, one of the most devastating attacks in the capital since the war started.

A pair of suicide bombers detonated explosives among shoppers in a crowded outdoor market in a Shiite city south of Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 73 people and wounding 163, police said.

Apparently seeking to calm fears that he will not go after militia gunmen loyal to one of his key political backers, Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki said 400 fighters from the Mahdi Army had been arrested over the past several weeks.

Bombings and shootings killed at least 14 people across Iraq today as Iraqi troops waged a fresh battle to oust militias and pacify the capital.

A car bomb exploded in northern Iraq today, killing at least 22 people and wounding 26, police said.

SYRIA’S foreign minister arrived in Baghdad yesterday at a time when his country is increasingly seen as key to helping stem the insurgency in Iraq.

Syria’s foreign minister arrived in Baghdad today, becoming the highest ranking official from his country to visit since the war began in 2003.

A suicide bomber in a minibus lured labourers to his vehicle with promises of a job this morning then blew it up, killing 22 people and wounding 44 in the mainly Shiite southern Iraqi city of Hillah.

Baghdad and two restive Sunni provinces were today locked under 24-hour curfew in the wake of Saddam Hussein’s death sentence for crimes against humanity in Iraq.

ACROSS Iraq, bombings and shootings killed at least 33 people yesterday.

Across Iraq, bombings and shootings killed at least 33 people today.