Two near simultaneous explosions in north-eastern Baghdad today killed three people and wounded 16, a day after the defence ministry said security forces would expand a crackdown into the eastern parts of the capital, including Shiite militia strongholds.

Gunmen seized 10 workers from a bakery today in a predominantly Shiite neighbourhood in Baghdad, while a car bomb in the northern city of Mosul killed one woman and wounded 19 other people, police said.

Five roadside bombs and two suicide car bombs exploded one after another in Baghdad today, killing a total of 12 Iraqis and wounding 37, police said.

Violence killed at least 34 people in Iraq, including a US soldier, as efforts to finish choosing the new cabinet bogged down yesterday in a web of conflicting interests.

Two Iraqi journalists were found dead south of Baghdad today a day after they were stopped by men wearing police uniforms, the manager of their television station said.

A suicide bomber attacked a crowd of people waiting outside a heavily-guarded court building in Baghdad today, killing 10 Iraqis and wounding 47.

A car bomb exploded in Baghdad today, killing eight civilians and wounding 46.

A suicide car bomb hit a police patrol near the Iraqi Oil Ministry in Baghdad today, killing nine Iraqis and wounding nine.

US troops clashed with insurgents late today in the central Iraqi city of Ramadi, injuring at least seven people, witnesses and hospital officials said.

Five US soldiers were killed and five wounded in a blast in east Baghdad today.

Baghdad

American soldiers were attacked in broad daylight in the centre of Baghdad today with witnesses saying two were killed when a grenade was dropped into their vehicle from a bridge.

Iraqi civilians have torn up and spat at portraits of Saddam Hussein in multiple acts against the Saddam regime in Baghdad today.