Baghdad  - The Iraqi government Friday called on all parties in the northern city of Kirkuk to remain calm, a day after Kurdish councilors called for the city to become part of the largely autonomous region of Kurdistan.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh urged people to obey the law and the constitution and avoid any escalations that may damage national unity.

Baghdad - Three Iraqi soldiers were killed and another soldier injured by a bomb blast in the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk, an Iraqi army source said Friday.

The incident appeared to be the result of a roadside bomb that targeted an army patrol between the districts of al-Rashad and al-Humayra. The explosion totally destroyed the patrol vehicle, senior army officer, Shawan Shamirani told Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency.

Baghdad - For a second day Wednesday Iraqi troops backed by US forces continued a major offensive against the al-Qaeda terrorist network in the restive Diyala province.

The Iraqi government has sent some 30,000 army and police forces to the province since it announced its plan to launch the assault weeks ago.

The offensive was launched mainly by Iraqi troops, according to the US military.

Baghdad - Hundreds of Iraq's politically assertive Kurds protested in the northern Kurdish capital of Sulaymanyah over a provincial election law passed by parliament last week, security sources said Wednesday.

The Kurdish protestors gathered in various places across the northern Sulaymanyah province.

The last two days have witnessed similar protests in the northern provinces of Arbil and Kirkuk.

During the Kurdish protest in Kirkuk Monday 22 people were killed and 150 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up amongst the protestors.

Baghdad  - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced Tuesday the establishment of a "Gas City" in northern Iraq, aiming to attract direct foreign investments of over 40 million US dollars.

A KRG statement said construction of the 50 square-kilometre industrial complex was scheduled to start September 21, with Kurdish Regional Premier Nechirvan Barzani to attend the ground-breaking ceremony.

Bagdad - At least one million Shiites gathered on Tuesday around the golden dome shrine commemorating a prominent Shiite religious figure in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

The shrine is to Imam Mussa al-Khadim, whom Shiites regard as a saint. Faithful religious Shiites gather in the sacred shrine and perform rituals of beating their heads with their hands and dancing in circles.

The number of visitors reached its peak on Tuesday. Thousands of Iraqi forces along with US reinforcements were deployed in the area amid heightened security as Kazimiyah was the site of previous attacks on pilgrims.