A roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army convoy on the outskirts of Baghdad today, killing nine soldiers and wounded 20, police said.
The attack occurred about four miles from the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, which was at the centre of the prison abuse scandal last year.
When the surviving soldiers responded by opening fire, they shot and killed the driver of a civilian car, said a police spokesman .
In Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, a roadside bomb hit an Iraqi army convoy this morning, wounding three soldiers, said Dr Bahaaldin al-Bakri at the city's al-Jumhouri hospital.
In eastern Baghdad, two policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb hit their car, said police Captain Mahir Abdelsatar.
The violence was part of a surge of militant attacks that have caused heavy casualties in recent weeks, ending a relative lull since Iraqis voted in historic January 30th elections.
Iraqi leaders are struggling to form a Cabinet that will include members of the Sunni minority, believed to be the driving force in the insurgency.
Yesterday, a car bomb ripped through a crowded mosque during prayers, killing eight people and wounding 26.
The car bomb exploded at Al-Subeih mosque in the capital's Shiite-dominated New Baghdad neighbourhood, said police Col. Ahmed Aboud.
Witnesses said the vehicle used in the attack had been parked outside the building since the morning. A 10-year-old child was among the eight people killed.