Bomb attacks killed 57 people and wounded more than 120 across Iraq today as suspected al-Qaeda militants stepped up a campaign of violence coinciding with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In a mainly Shia district of southwest Baghdad, twin car bombs killed 32 people in one of the biggest attacks to hit the Iraq capital in weeks.
The bombs detonated shortly before dusk, when most people were preparing for the evening meal which ends a daylong fast during Ramadan.
"There has indeed been an increase in violence in the last few days, largely in areas in which al-Qaeda in Iraq operates and with al-Qaeda in Iraq signatures, as they have sought to ramp up attacks," US military spokesman Major-General Kevin Bergner said.
In northern Iraq a suicide bomber killed 10 people and wounded nine when he struck at the home of a tribal leader opposed to al-Qaeda near the town of Sinjar. The bomber's target, Sheikh Kanan al-Juhaimur, was wounded.
At the start of Ramadan two weeks ago Sunni Islamist al-Qaeda vowed to escalate attacks and specifically said it would target tribal leaders cooperating with security forces.
"This was an increase that was actually expected some weeks ago given past upturns in violence during Ramadan," Bergner told a news conference, adding the number of attacks was down from levels seen last year and roughly in line with 2005.
US President George W. Bush approved plans earlier this month to withdraw around 20,000 combat troops from Iraq by the middle of next year, saying the move was justified by improved security in Baghdad and the western province of Anbar.
The main Anbar sheikh working with US forces, Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, was killed two weeks ago in a bombing claimed by al-Qaeda. The group said others who cooperated with the United States would share Abu Risha's fate.
In the city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, residents heard four explosions in one hour today.
Police said three people were killed and 47 were wounded when a suicide bomber hit a government building under construction. Most victims were builders.
Two car bombs at army checkpoints in the east of the city killed one person and wounded two. Police said they killed another would-be suicide bomber and defused his explosives.
In the town of Shirqat, south of Mosul, two car bombs targeting local police killed seven people and wounded five, police said.
A roadside bomb outside a Sunni mosque in the town of Abi Khasib, five miles (8 km) south of Basra, killed four people, police and a Sunni political party said.
"We are continuing our efforts to suppress (the violence) and keep the pressure on the extremist networks," Bergner said.