Five policemen were shot dead at a checkpoint and a car bomb killed four others in Baghdad today. A US Humvee was destroyed in another bomb blast, but it was not immediately clear if any US troops were wounded.
A suicide car bomber targeting a US base in eastern Baghdad failed to detonate properly. The driver was detained by US forces and confessed under questioning that he had been forced to carry out the bombing by militants who were holding his family hostage, the U.S. military said in a statement.
The attacks reinforced concerns that Iraqi forces have a long way to go before they can take over from American soldiers.
In the days since Iraq announced the formation of a government, after three months of negotiations, insurgents have carried out a furious sequence of attacks, including more than 15 car bombings in Baghdad that have killed dozens.
Meanwhile, new Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced an initiative to coordinate the battle against the insurgency today, saying a joint operations centre combining elements of the Interior and Defence Ministries would be set up.
While most of the recent violence has focused on the capital, there were other attacks in hotspots nearby. Guerrillas fired at least seven rockets into the city of Falluja on Saturday, killing three Iraqi civilians, the US military said.