Baghdad - Iraqi police on Wednesday unearthed a grave containing six bodies in a village north of Baquba, the capital of Iraq's ethnically divided Diyala province, local media reported.

Police sources told the Voices of Iraq news agency that "six decayed and beheaded bodies that bore the marks of torture" were found on Wednesday in the village of Albu Teaama, near Khalis, a predominantly Shiite village surrounded by Sunni towns north of Baquba.

It was unclear who was responsible for the deaths.

London, Feb. 4: A murderous mom who helped a gang of rapists turn its victims into female suicide bombers has been arrested in Iraq.

Samira Ahmed Jassim, who has been referred to as the "Mother of the Believers," by Iraqi insurgents, has admitted to being a key part of a plot hatched by Ansar Al-Sunnah terrorists to build an army of Amazons willing to blow themselves up for Allah.

Baghdad - Two bombs exploded in a crowded market in Baquba, the capital city of Iraq's ethnically divided Diyala province, on Tuesday morning, Iraqi media reported.

"On Tuesday, an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated inside an ambulance near a popular market in downtown Baquba. Another IED blast followed in the same place, leaving a number of casualties that was not immediately known," a police spokesman told the Voices of Iraq news agency Tuesday.

Further details were not immediately known in the incident in Baquba, where Saturday's provincial council elections had passed peacefully.

Washington  - US President Barack Obama spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani on Monday after the country held largely peaceful provincial elections, the White House said.

Spokesman Robert Gibbs offered no further details about the calls. Obama on Saturday congratulated Iraqis on their "significant" and peaceful election of local officials, calling it an "important step" as the country takes control of its future.

Baghdad  - Unofficial, preliminary results from Saturday's provincial council elections suggest Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki's coalition may win provincial council elections in Iraq's nine southern provinces, Iraqi media reported Monday.

Baghdad's Afaq television station, which is funded by the ruling Dawaa Party, on Monday reported that preliminary results suggested that al-Maliki's list would perform well in a majority of Iraqi provinces, particularly in many areas of Baghdad and governorates to the south of the capital.

Baghdad  - Iraqis cast their ballots Saturday in provincial elections in the largest elections yet in the country's history, as receding violence created conditions which were more secure than for the national elections held in 2005.

Despite tight security arrangements, violence was reported during the day. Four mortars were fired at polling stations in Tikrit, the hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein, but no one was hurt, the news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) reported.