Female suicide bomber kills at least 20 Iraqis during iftar

A female suicide bomber blew herself up in a crowd of people during an iftar in the Iraqi province of Diyala on Monday, killing at least 20 people and wounding around 30, a top military officer said.

General Abdel Karim alRubaie, the commander of Iraqi troops in Diyala, north of Baghdad, said the attack was in the town of Bala Druz, south of the provincial capital Baquba. He said the bomber blew herself up at around 7:30 pm when people had gathered to break the Ramadan fast at the home of a detainee who was released from a US military prison on Sunday.

Baquba police Lieutenant Ali Ahmed also confirmed the attack,saying the former detainee, a police officer, had arranged a special dinner on Monday for his friends and relatives when the attack took place.Ahmed said the released detainee was killed in the blast, along with his father and another senior police officer from Bala Druz.

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Twin car bomb attacks kill 11 people in eastern Algeria

Two car bomb at tacks in eastern Algeria killed at least 11 people, state radio reported Wednesday, with the country still in shock from a suicide bomber who killed 43 people a day earlier.

At least 31 people were wounded in the latest attacks in the town of Bouira, one on a passenger bus and another near a military headquarters,Algerian radio said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but an AlQaeda group has staged several attacks in Algeria over the past year and has been involved in clashes with government forces in the oil and gas rich state.

Bouira is part of a so-called "zone of death" it forms with Algiers,Tizi Ouzou and Boumerdes where attacks have been rife.

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Washington must be ‘very clear' on timeline for withdrawal - Iraqi minister

The United States must provide a "very clear timeline" to withdraw its troops from Iraq as part of an agreement allowing them to stay beyond this year, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Ze bari said on Sunday.

It was the strongest public assertion yet that Iraq is demanding a timeline. US President George W. Bush has long resisted setting a firm schedule for pulling troops out of Iraq, although last month the White House began speaking of a general "time horizon" and "aspirational goals" to withdraw.

Iraq's leaders have become more confident of their ability to provide security as the country has become safer. But attacks which killed at least 15 people on Sunday, including a US soldier, were a reminder it is still a violent place.

In an interview with Reuters, Zebari said the agreement, including the timeline, was "very close" and would probably be presented to the Iraqi Parliament in early September.

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