Bombings targeting US and Iraqi forces killed at least four people today as insurgents appeared to rebound after a lull in violence since the country's January elections.
In the worst incident, a roadside bomb near the central city of Samarra killed two Iraqi soldiers.
In Baghdad, a car bomb intended for a US military convoy passing through the upscale Mansour neighbourhood killed at least one person and wounded five, including a US soldier.
On the other side of the capital shortly afterwards, a bomb targeting Iraqi National Guard troops killed a civilian and wounded three others, police said.
The attacks, although small-scale by Iraq's standards, reinforced the impression of a resurgence in the violence that has been so common over the past two years but appeared to have subsided since the election.
On Wednesday and yesterday, at least 10 bomb blasts throughout the country killed more than 30 people, including 15 in twin suicide attacks in central Baghdad.
The bloodshed has increased pressure on Iraq's newly elected leaders who have been squabbling over the formation of a government for the past 11 weeks. The country has appointed a president and prime minister - but key interior, oil and defence ministers have yet to be chosen.