Baghdad  - Three consecutive explosions rocked Baghdad on Sunday, leaving at least one person dead and at least 20 people wounded, local media reported.

Early Sunday morning, police sources told the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency, a bomb blast injured two civilians on a main thoroughfare in Baghdad's al-Karada district.

Later in the day, a second explosion killed an Iraqi man and wounded at least 14 other civilians in the western Baghdad district of al-Qahira, the news agency reported.

Baghdad - An exchange of fire between Iraqi police forces and unknown gunmen Saturday left five people dead, including a militia member, security sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Another militia member was wounded, the source added. The shooting took place in the Mithaq area of Mosul, some 400 KM north of Baghdad.

In the north-east of Baquba city, a policeman was killed and three were wounded when a bomb exploded, a security source said.

The explosion took place in Saadiya district, 155 KM northeast of Baquba, the source told Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency.

Baghdad  - Preliminary election results in Iraq showed Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Dawlat al-Qanoon coalition leading in nine of 14 provinces and the emergence of new secular powers.

Dawlat al-Qanoon, or State of Law, garnered 38 per cent of the votes in the capital Baghdad and 37 per cent in Basra, the province that accounts for most of Iraq's oil exports, according to the Independent Higher Electoral Commission (IHEC).

Baghdad - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived Friday in Baghdad on an unannounced visit, media reports said.

Ban, whose visit comes a week after Iraq's historical provincial elections, met with President Jalal Talabani, Al-Arabiya news satellite channel reported.

A UN spokesman said Ban's visit was meant to reassure Baghdad about the UN's commitment to the country and to congratulate the Iraqi people on the success of provincial elections, Al-Arabiya reported.

Ban was expected to meet later with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose list prevailed in preliminary election results.

Baghdad  - A suicide bomber Thursday killed at least 15 people and wounded 13 in the northern Iraqi province of Diyala, according to a security source.

The source told the Voices of Iraq news agency that the bomber blew himself up inside a crowded restaurant in Khanaqin town.

"There are seven people severely wounded and more than 10 stores have been severely damaged, as have cars parked near the blast," the source added.

Baghdad  - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's list garnered 38 per cent of the votes in Baghdad in preliminary election results, Iraq's Independent Higher Electoral Commission said Thursday.

Results of Iraq's provincial elections revealed that al-Maliki's list had succeeded in overtaking the Shiite religious parties who previously dominated Iraq.