BAGHDAD (Reuters):

Two suicide car bombs killed 22 people in northern Iraq yesterday in attacks targeting a police chief and a tribal leader working with United States forces, part of an upsurge in violence that killed 56 across the country.

In Baghdad, foreign security guards escorting a convoy of four vehicles through the city centre killed two women when they opened fire on a car, the government said.

The spate of attacks across Iraq, which also wounded nearly 120 people, marked one of the bloodiest days during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.