Baghdad  - A roadside

Baghdad (Iraq), Mar. 10 : A homicide car bomber exploded his vehicle at a municipal building in an area west of Baghdad killing at least 20 and injuring 65.

The bomber struck a group of tribal leaders Tuesday as they left the mayor''s office in the town of Abu Ghraib. The attack comes two days after a homicide bomber killed
30 people in east Baghdad.

The ministry official says 25 people were wounded in the attack.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they wasn''t authorized to release the information.

Baghdad - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday urged Iraqis to come together in a process of national reconciliation following Sunday's bombing in Baghdad, the deadliest the city has seen in months.

"National reconciliation must be an open door, through which all who believe ... in the political process can enter," al-Maliki told a gathering of branches of Iraq's prominent al-Abid tribe on Monday.

Baghdad  - At least 15 people were killed and 30 injured when a man driving a motorcycle detonated explosives outside a police recruitment centre in Baghdad on Sunday morning, police and witnesses told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The attack took place near the Ministry of Oil and Water Resources on the major Baghdad thoroughfare of Palestine Street. Most of those killed were waiting to volunteer for the Iraqi security forces, police and witnesses said.

The blast was audible across eastern Baghdad. Witnesses said they heard shots fired after the blast and saw helicopters and ambulances rushing to the scene.

Baghdad  - Poverty, lack of security, and a lack of basic services have created a "silent emergency" for Iraqi women, a study released Sunday found.

A survey of 1,700 Iraqi women conducted by the Iraqi nongovernmental organisation al-Amal and released by the international charity Oxfam in honour of International Women's Day Sunday found that a majority of women had been victims of violence, and that their personal safety was still their primary concern.

Baghdad  - The Iraqi parliament Thursday Thursday passed a 2009 budget of 58.6 billion dollars, after slashing around four billion dollars off government spending plans.

As global oil prices fell from 150 dollars per barrel in July to little more than 43 dollars on Wednesday, there were increasing concerns that huge cuts might be needed.

Oil exports account for almost 95 per cent of Iraq's revenue. This month's exports of crude oil reached an average of one million and 804 barrels per day.