An Iraqi woman smiles as she talks to Iraqi troops in Baqouba, 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Monday, June 25, 2007. Between 60 and 100 suspected al-Qaida fighters and one U.S. soldier have been killed so far in the fighting in western Baqouba, the US military said

Iraqi soldiers stand guard near suspected insurgents who were captured by joint U.S.-Iraqi military forces during an operation called Arrowhead Ripper in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad June 25, 2007. U.S. troops hoping to directly confront al Qaeda militants in a major offensive in the Iraqi city of Baquba instead found themselves "swimming through a minefield", a senior officer said on Sunday

A U.S. soldier places plastic cuffs on the arms of a suspected insurgent who was among those captured by joint U.S.-Iraqi military forces in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad June 25, 2007. U.S. troops hoping to directly confront al Qaeda militants in a major offensive in the Iraqi city of Baquba instead found themselves "swimming through a minefield", a senior officer said on Sunday

Iraqi soldiers guard suspected insurgents at the back of a police vehicle after the insurgents were captured by joint U.S.-Iraqi military forces during an operation called Arrowhead Ripper in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad June 25, 2007. U.S. troops hoping to directly confront al Qaeda militants in a major offensive in the Iraqi city of Baquba instead found themselves "swimming through a minefield", a senior officer said on Sunday.

Iraqi soldiers secure the perimeter of Al-Mansour hotel in Baghdad June 25, 2007. Twelve people were killed and 18 wounded when a suicide bomber wearing an explosives-packed vest detonated inside the al-Mansour Hotel, a hotel used by foreigners and Iraqi officials, police said.

A woman walks past an armoured vehicle securing the perimeter of Al-Mansour hotel in Baghdad June 25, 2007. Twelve people were killed and 18 wounded when a suicide bomber wearing an explosives-packed vest detonated inside the al-Mansour Hotel, a hotel used by foreigners and Iraqi officials, police said.

A helicopter used by private security contractors flies near al-Mansour hotel in Baghdad June 25, 2007. Twelve people were killed and 18 wounded when a suicide bomber wearing an explosives-packed vest detonated inside the al-Mansour Hotel, a hotel used by foreigners and Iraqi officials, police said.

Traditional Arab headgear lays amidst the rubble at the al-Mansour hotel in Baghdad. Suicide bombers have targetted police and struck a Baghdad hotel in a wave of insurgent bombings that killed at least 45 people in Iraq.

Iraqi soldiers talk to villagers while on a routine patrol with U.S. soldiers in Hilla, in this March 19, 2006 file photo. A suicide car bomb attack killed eight people and wounded 25 in the Iraqi city of Hilla on Monday, police said

Relatives tend a man in a hospital in Tikrit, Iraq Monday, June 25, 2007. The man was among wounded when a suicide truck bomber targeted an Iraqi police station shared with U.S. troops in Beiji, 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad, killing nine people. There were no American casualties in that blast, the U.S. command said.

Iraqi and US troops walk the streets of Baqouba, 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Monday, June 25, 2007. Between 60 and 100 suspected al-Qaida fighters and one U.S. soldier have been killed so far in the fighting in western Baqouba, the US military said.

At least 78 people have been killed in a truck bomb blast near a Shia mosque in central Baghdad, Iraqi officials say.

Chemical Ali' sentenced to hang

A cousin of the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to death by an Iraqi court for the murder of some 180,000 Kurds in 1988.

Baghdad mosque blast

At least 78 people have been killed in a truck bomb blast near a Shia mosque in central Baghdad, Iraqi officials say.

The powerful explosion occurred in a car park near the al-Khilani mosque, destroying the outer wall and part of the building's interior.

Some 200 people were injured, and there are fears that the death toll will rise further.

The mosque's imam, Sheikh Saleh al-Haidari, said worshippers were hit as they were leaving afternoon prayers.

The explosion sent huge plumes of smoke billowing over the Iraqi capital.

It was one the most devastating attacks in Baghdad since US and Iraqi troops began a crackdown on militants in February.

Iraqi youths cool off in the River Tigris in the capital Baghdad.

An elderly Iraqi pulls his cart in an empty street in central Baghdad. After the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine, pedestrians and vehicles are kept off the streets as the Iraqi capital remains under an indefinite curfew.

A man cycles across a deserted bridge in the centre of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Samarra shrine blasts

Explosions at the al-Askari shrine in Samarra, north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, have destroyed both its minarets.

Witnesses say the mosque, one of Shia Islam's holiest sites, was hit by two bombs at around 0900 (0500 GMT).

The two minarets used to stand either side of the mosque, which houses the remains of two revered Shia imams.

Police reinforcements were rushed to Samarra after the attack, which prompted demonstrations by angry Shias.

The minarets survived an earlier attack in February 2006, which destroyed the mosque's famous golden dome and led to a wave of sectarian violence.

The site is of immense spiritual importance for Shia Muslims around the world and has attracted millions of pilgrims over the centuries, such as these in 2004.