Baghdad - Iraqi forces Friday discovered a cache of explosives in a mosque south of Baghdad, an army source said.

The find was made when forces raided Adullah al-Gaboury mosque in al-Askanderia district, 60 kilometres south of Baghdad, the source told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa. The explosives were removed and eight suspects were later arrested in the area.

Two brothers aged 14 and 17 were meanwhile found stabbed to death in Diwaniyah province in what appeared to have been an act of clan revenge, a police official told the Voices of Iraq

Baghdad - The Iraqi Parliament said on Thursday the top US general in Iraq violated diplomatic norms and interfered in internal affairs when he accused Iraqi lawmakers of taking bribes from Iran.

"(The comments) are an insult to the representatives of the people," the parliament said in a statement quoted by the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency.

Odierno, who took over the command of the US forces in Iraq in mid-September, had accused lawmakers of receiving bribes from Iran to oppose the passing of a long-term security agreement with the United States,

Washington/Baghdad, Oct. 16 : The governments of the United States and Iraq are reportedly close to reaching an agreement on when American troops will make their exit from Iraq.

The announcement that there is a new draft, while far from final, indicates that the Iraqis are inching closer to final approval.

Baghdad - Five Iraqis were killed and 12 injured when two bombs exploded near an electric power station in Baghdad on Wednesday, eyewitnesses said.

The blasts targeted the power station near several primary schools, including one that serves both Christian and Muslim students, witnesses told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

During the past few weeks, several Christians have been murdered in the northern city of Mosul and thousands have fled the city after recent threats that forced them to leave their homes and jobs.

Baghdad- At least nine Iraqis were injured and three were killed on Wednesday in explosive attacks that took place in Baghdad, Mosul and Baquba.

A bomb went off on Wednesday morning in Baquba as a minibus was passing the Balad Roze neighbourhood.

Two people were killed in the attack and four injured.

Baquba, capital of Diyala province, is 60 kilometres north-east of Baghdad

In restive Mosul, 400 km north-west of Baghdad, two Iraqi soldiers were wounded in a bomb attack on Wednesday, a security source said.