Six people were killed in the northern Iraqi city of Baquba in a second suicide car bomb attack today on security forces, police and hospital sources said.
An Iraqi doctor treats a wounded youth after he was injured in a car bomb explosion in Baghdad, today
Thirteen people, including two civilians, were wounded in the attack on an Iraqi police and National Guard checkpoint in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad.
Earlier this morning, at least 20 people were reported dead following a car bomb blast near a police academy in the Iraqi town of Hilla.
The bomb exploded outside a gate of the academy in Hillah, about 60 miles south of the capital, said police Captain Hady Hatef.
Twenty people were killed an unspecified number were injured, he said.
The bombing comes as violence intensifies ahead of elections planned for the end of the month.
Two people were killed when a car filled explosives detonated close to the funeral procession of Baghdad governor, Ali al-Haidari, in Baghdad's western district of Amiriyah. Two Iraqi civilians died and 10 people were wounded.
Mr al-Haidari, who was known for his close co-operation with the Americans, was killed in an insurgent ambush yesterday.
It was not clear if the suicide car bomber intended to attack the mourners, who included a number of Iraqi officials and dignitaries.
In another attack today, gunmen killed Iraqi police Col. Khalifa Hassan and his driver as they headed to work in Baqoubah, 30 miles northeast of Baghdad, Dr. Ahmed Fouad of the Baqoubah General Hospital said.
Elsewhere, four Iraqi civilians were killed and two others were injured when US soldiers opened fire after their convoy was attacked by rocket-propelled grenades in central Ramadi, 60 miles west of Baghdad, according to Dr. Riyad al-Hiti of the Ramadi hospital. The US military had no immediate information about the incident.
A US soldier belonging to Task Force Olympia was killed and two were wounded after their patrol was attacked with small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire yesterday afternoon in Tal Afar in northern Iraq.