American troops killed up to four bank staff on their way to work in Baghdad today after firing on their minibus.

Five Iraqis were killed when gunmen opened fire on Shiite pilgrims in two separate incidents in Baghdad today.

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.

IRAQI Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki yesterday called for Shi’ites and Sunnis to use the Islamic holy month of Ramadan to put aside their differences, while authorities reported that at least 20 people were killed in violence across the country.

At least 20 people were killed and 41 injured today in scattered violence around Iraq, including a mortar attack on the Health Ministry followed by a car bombing targeting a police patrol.

Six people were killed and 25 injured today in scattered violence around Iraq, including a mortar attack on the Health Ministry and a car bombing targeting a police patrol in Baghdad.

A suicide truck bomb crashed into a police headquarters building in Baghdad today, destroying the building and killing seven policemen, police said.

Two bombs went off within minutes of each other today in northern Baghdad, killing at least nine people and wounding 39.

A rubbish collector and the head of security for Baghdad University were killed in separate drive-by shootings today as a string of attacks left at least seven people dead in the Iraqi capital.

A parked car bomb struck northern Baghdad today, killing at least four civilians and wounding six.

Two car bombs rocked northern Baghdad neighbourhoods today while another struck a Shiite holy city, in attacks that left at least 16 dead and 49 wounded, police and provincial officials said.

Gunmen in Baghdad hunted down three different government employees and shot them dead on their way to work today.

An explosion rocked a Shiite mosque in northern Baghdad after religious services today, killing at least 30 people.

A STRING of explosions in Baghdad and north of the capital killed at least 14 Iraqis and wounded 52 yesterday.

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.

Al-Qaida in Iraq’s leader in northern Baghdad was killed in a raid today, the US military said.

GUNMEN wearing Iraqi special forces uniforms yesterday kidnapped a wealthy banker and his son after killing five of their bodyguards.

Shiite lawmakers today chose Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to head the new government, selecting the incumbent by a one-vote margin over Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, Shiite officials said.

A SUICIDE bomber killed 32 mourners and injured dozens at a funeral for the nephew of a Shi'ite politician in Iraq yesterday.

Roadside bombs killed two American soldiers in northern Baghdad and ignited a train carrying fuel in the south of Iraq’s capital, killing two Iraqis and wounding six others, officials said today.

SIX car bombs targeted US and Iraqi troops across Baghdad yesterday, killing as many as 20 people, and the military said two US Marines died the day before in a roadside bombing near the Jordanian border.

THE Iraqi government said yesterday a security cordon of 40,000 Iraqi soldiers and police will ring Baghdad starting next week in what it dubbed Operation Lightning.

The government announced today that a security cordon of 40,000 Iraqi soldiers and police will ring Baghdad starting next week to try to halt a spree of insurgent violence that has killed more than 620 people this month.

A car bomb detonated today outside a popular restaurant in northern Baghdad, killing and injuring an undetermined number of people, witnesses said.

A suicide car bomb exploded outside an Iraqi army recruitment centre in northern Baghdad today, killing two Iraqi soldiers, a civilian, and wounding 20 people, police said.

A WAVE of car bombings shook the Iraqi capital Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 12 people as rebels stepped up their offensive to block the January 30 national election.

Rebels launched multiple attacks on Iraqi police posts around the city of Tikrit, killing 18 policemen and injuring three, while a car bomb in northern Baghdad injured nine people, Iraqi and US officials said today.

Rebels launched an attack on an Iraqi police post near the city of Tikrit, killing 12 policemen, and a car bomb exploded in northern Baghdad injuring nine people, officials said today.

At least eight people were killed when a car bomb exploded near the Ministry of Education in a busy commercial area of northern Baghdad today.

Up to 45 people were believed killed after a series of coordinated explosions struck major Shiite Muslim shrines in the Iraqi city of Karbala and in Baghdad today as thousands of pilgrims converged for the final day of a major religious festival.

Saboteurs blew up a water main in northern Baghdad, forcing engineers to cut off water to the capital and raising new fears that rebels were hitting Iraq’s infrastructure to slow its recovery.

An American soldier and his Iraqi interpreter were killed in a grenade and small arms attack in northern Baghdad today, the US military said.