Iraqi forces detain 400 Shiite fighters

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.

In Baghdad today, bombers and gunmen killed at least 19 more people in a series of attacks in the pre-noon hours as the capital faces a surge in violence ahead of a planned US-Iraqi security crackdown.