At least 43 people were killed today when bombs tore through two separate pet markets in Baghdad.

AFTER weathering almost five years of war, Baghdad residents thought they’d seen it all.

A string of bombings killed 10 people in the Baghdad area today and the US announced a marine had died in fighting west of the Iraqi capital.

Militants struck back in their first major blow against a US-led security clampdown in Baghdad with car bombings that killed at least 63 people and left scores injured.

Iraqi police have said the death toll in the twin car bombings in east Baghdad has reached 56 with 127 wounded.

Two car bombs exploded in an outdoor market in Baghdad today, killing at least 11 people in the deadliest attack since US and Iraqi forces began a major security push around the capital.

The US military has reported the deaths of seven soldiers in Baghdad.

Two car bombs in quick succession struck a market in a mainly Shiite district in Baghdad today, killing at least 11 people and wounding more than 30, police said.

A car bomb killed three people and wounded five others in Baghdad’s Sadr City neighbourhood early today.

Bombs ripped through crowds of Iraqi shoppers stocking up on sweets and other delicacies ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, killing at least five people, police said today.

A bomb struck a market in eastern Baghdad today, killing five people and wounding 15.

A rash of bombings in Baghdad killed at least 30 people and injured dozens, police said.

Bombs struck a busy outdoor market and a police patrol in a predominantly Shiite area of Baghdad today, killing at least 19 people and wounding more than 50 others.

Iraq’s prime minister declared a state of emergency in once peaceful and oil-rich Basra, as the sectarian and militia violence engulfing the country’s capital spread to its southern economic heartland.

Eleven people were killed and at least nine injured when a motorcycle bomb exploded in the courtyard of a Baghdad mosque this evening.

Roadside bombs and a drive-by shooting killed four Iraqis and wounded 24 in Baghdad today as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's new national unity government held its first meeting to discuss issues such as improving Iraq's security.

Seven car bombs exploded across the Iraqi capital Baghdad today, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens, as politicians met to try to finalise a new Cabinet.

Six car bombs exploded in Baghdad today, killing at least six people and wounding dozens, as Iraqi politicians met to try to finalise a new Cabinet.

A car bomb exploded today in a mostly Shiite area of eastern Baghdad, killing at least 10 and wounding 28, police said.

Three bombs exploded within an hour in Baghdad today, killing at least 23 people and injuring 56.

Three bombs exploded today within an hour in Baghdad, killing 17 people and injuring 48.

Two explosions hit Shiite targets in northern Baghdad after sundown today, killing at least 15 people and wounding 72, police said. The attacks raised the death toll for the day to at least 56.

Four explosions, including two car bombs and a suicide bomber, rocked the the Iraqi capital Baghdad this morning, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt today in a line of people waiting to receive government payments, killing six other people and wounding about 30, including children.

A bomb planted near a tea stand killed eight men waiting for jobs in a largely Shiite area of Baghdad today and six other people died in scattered violence across the country.

A bomb exploded alongside a group of Iraqi men waiting for work in eastern Baghdad today, killing at least eight and wounding more than 50.

A car bomb exploded today outside a public market in the predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of New Baghdad, police said.

In a string of near simultaneous attacks, gunmen attacked and killed eight policemen in Baghdad today, police said.

An Iraqi police commander was gunned down today in north-eastern Baghdad.

IRAQI forces have launched a new security operation against insurgents in the Baghdad area.

Gunmen killed three policemen and a government worker walking to work in Baghdad, officials said today, one day after four suicide car bombings killed 22 people.

NEW suicide bombings killed at least 22 people in the Baghdad area yesterday, while relatives struggled to identify charred bodies from a fiery suicide attack near a Shi’ite mosque in Musayyib that killed more than 90 people.

In a rare statement against violence, al-Qaida in Iraq purportedly issued a statement today denying it was behind a horrific attack on a poor east Baghdad neighbourhood that killed 18 children and teenagers.

THE bodies of at least 30 men, including 10 Iraqi soldiers, were found shot execution-style in three locations across Iraq yesterday.

MILITANTS assassinated a general and a colonel and a car bomb exploded near a busy market in Baghdad yesterday, part of a wave of attacks that killed at least 21 Iraqis and wounded more than 70, authorities said.

A car bomb exploded near a busy market and cinema in eastern Baghdad today, killing at least 17 people and wounding 65, police said.

Two US Marines were killed and 14 wounded when an explosive device hit their troop transport vehicle during a large American offensive being fought against suspected insurgents in western Iraq, the military said today.

A car bomb exploded near a market in eastern Baghdad today, killing at least six people and wounding 13, police said.

Using car bombs and a man with explosives strapped to his body, insurgents killed more than 60 people in three Iraqi cities today, police said.

Three car bombs exploded in Baghdad today, killing four people and wounding 14, police said.

A roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army convoy on the outskirts of Baghdad today, killing nine soldiers and wounded 20, police said.

A CAR bomb exploded during prayers at a Shi’ite mosque in Baghdad yesterday, killing eight people and wounding 20, police said.

Gunmen fired on supporters of the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, killing one person and wounding two others as they made their way to protests planned for the second anniversary of Baghdad’s fall to US-led troops.

FOUR children collecting rubbish were killed yesterday by a homemade bomb in Baghdad.