Iraq's government said today it had closed its borders with Syria and Iran and extended a night curfew in Baghdad under a US-backed security plan.
The measures ordered by Shia Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki were announced on Iraqi state television by the Iraqi commander who is leading the security offensive in Baghdad. He said the borders would be closed for 72 hours.
The measure extends Baghdad's night vehicle curfew of 11 pm-6am to 8 pm-6am. Baghdad's international airport, which has been closed down in security operations in the past, will not be affected.
US officials accuse non-Arab, Shia Iran of funding and training Iraqi militants attacking US forces in Iraq.
At least 15 people have been killed in the latest violence in Iraq only a day after car bombs devastated a Baghdad marketplace.
In today's attack, a suicide truck bomber blew himself up near a college and a ration office in a mainly Shia area of the capital.
The attack, which also wounded 27 people, was the latest in a series of bombings that came despite a US-Iraqi security crackdown aimed at stopping the sectarian violence that has killed hundreds since the start of the year.
Witnesses said a suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden truck into cars parked on a street as people were entering a Trade Ministry office that administers ration cards for the area.
The bombing came hours before the Iraqi commander of the Baghdad security operation was scheduled to give a nationally televised address expected to detail coming border closures, curfews and regulations for dealing with the influx of Iraqi and US troops.
A number of bombings yesterday in Baghdad marketplaces killed 81 and wounded 172.
AP