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.

Iraq’s foreign minister today warned that a quick American military withdrawal from the country could lead to civil war and the collapse of the government, as pressure on the Bush administration for a pull-out grows.

Five US soldiers were killed and seven wounded in an attack on their combat patrol in southern Baghdad, the US military said today.

Roadside bombs killed two US soldiers in separate incidents in Baghdad, the US military said today.

Large explosions rocked the capital of Iraq today, apparently an artillery barrage in the south of the city.

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

A suicide bomber struck outside a college campus in Iraq today, killing at least 31 people and injuring dozens.

A series of bombings struck predominantly Shiite areas in Baghdad today, killing at least seven people and wounding dozens, police said, as insurgents persist in their relentless bid to terrorise the capital in the final days before US and Iraqi soldiers plan to begin a massive crackdown.

The bodies of 14 Sunni Arabs who had been kidnapped from their homes in Baghdad by men disguised as policemen were found in the capital on this morning, Iraqi authorities said.

At least 12 people were killed in violence around Iraq today, while authorities found the decapitated corpses of seven people dumped north of Baghdad in what appeared to be a sectarian revenge killing.

A US base in southern Baghdad was hit by a mortar round fired by insurgents, which set off a series of explosions from detonating tank and artillery shells that shook buildings miles away.

A fire at a US army base in Iraq set off a series of explosions by detonating tank and artillery shells, causing buildings miles away to shake.

Iraq’s prime minister announced a new plan aimed at ending the deepening crisis between Shiite and Sunni parties in his government and uniting them behind the drive to stop sectarian killings that have bloodied the country for months.

Two Iraqi soldiers were killed and 10 more injured early today when a suicide car bomb slammed into a checkpoint in northeast Baghdad, police said.

A suicide truck bomb crashed into a Baghdad police headquarters today, killing seven and wounding at least double that many in a deadly 24 hours that saw more than 45 killings in Iraq, including two American soldiers, authorities said.

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

A rocket attack on a Shi’ite neighbourhood in southern Baghdad this afternoon killed 10 people and wounded another 19, police said.

Gunmen have killed at least nine people in separate attacks in northern Iraq and in the capital Baghdad.

Iraqi police today found the bodies of 11 people who had apparently been tortured and shot before being dumped near a school in southern Baghdad.

A suicide bomber blew himself up among mourners at a funeral in Saddam Hussein’s hometown today, killing at least 10 people and injuring another 18, police said.

Thousands of Shiite youths, some armed, headed into Iraq’s capital Baghdad today for a pro-Hezbollah rally as skirmishes erupted with US troops that left at least three people dead, officials said. Fifteen rally-goers were wounded in a bus bombing.

Early-morning bombings - including a blast that killed six when it struck a minivan of workers in southern Baghdad - continued today as US and Iraqi officials promised a crackdown on violence and sectarian attacks.

A bomb struck a minivan carrying workers to an agricultural truck company in southern Baghdad today, killing six including one woman, police said.

A mortar barrage killed nine Iraqi civilians and wounded 40 in southern Baghdad today, police said.

A pair of bombs ripped through central Baghdad just after dawn today, killing three people and injuring 21, police said.

A drive-by shooting killed a Shiite baker in Baghdad today. The bodies of two other Iraqis were found in the capital.

A bomb placed underneath a car exploded in eastern Baghdad today, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 20.

A bomb placed underneath a car exploded in eastern Baghdad today, killing at least two policemen and wounding six civilians.

Iraqi forces have captured the prime suspect in last year’s kidnapping of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, the US military said today.

Gunmen killed a Shiite family of four in their home in southern Baghdad, police said today.

AMERICAN and Iraqi troops swept the oil-rich region of Kirkuk for suspected insurgents and captured dozens, while drive-by shootings, roadside bombings and sectarian violence killed at least 29 people in Iraq yesterday.

Roadside bombs and mortar fire rumbled throughout the Iraqi capital Baghdad today and at least nine people were wounded.

AT LEAST 27 Iraqis were killed yesterday, including 16 in a pair of Baghdad car bombings, while the US military said five of its troops lost their lives in attacks.

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 car bomb exploded near an outdoor market in southern Baghdad today, killing at least seven and wounding 15, police said.

Iraq’s leading Shiite religious bloc has said that it is ready to discuss Sunni Arab participation in a coalition government, while thousands of Sunni and secular Shiite demonstrators took to the streets claiming election fraud.

LARGE demonstrations broke out across Iraq yesterday to denounce parliamentary elections that protesters called rigged in favour of the main religious Shi’ite coalition.

Large demonstrations broke out across Iraq today to denounce parliamentary elections that protesters called rigged in favour of the main religious Shiite coalition.

A roadside bomb aimed at a US military convoy in Iraq’s Triangle of Death hit a minibus today, killing five Iraqis and wounding six, police said.

British troops in the tense southern Iraqi city of Basra greatly reduced their presence in the streets today, apparently responding to a call from the provincial governor to sever co-operation until London apologised for storming a police station to free two British soldiers.

A roadside bomb hit a US patrol of Humvees in southern Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding six, an official said today.

TWO suicide car bombers struck within a minute of each other and a half-mile apart in southern Baghdad yesterday, killing seven policemen and raising the day’s death toll from blasts in the capital to at least 31, police said.

WITH the deadline for Iraq’s constitution rapidly approaching, the US ambassador to the country dismissed the suggestion yesterday that Iraqis may need a few more weeks to iron out differences.

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.