Suicide bombs kill dozens in Iraq

Twin suicide bombs killed at least 26 and wounded more than 100 in Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland yesterday, and a roadside bomb killed seven pilgrims returning from a Shia Muslim religious festival.

The attacks underscored the tenaciousness of Iraq's ongoing insurgency, despite a steep drop in overall violence, and reflected Iraq's vulnerability as it prepares for national polls in March and local troops take over from US forces.

US forces flew Qassim Mohammed, governor of Anbar province west of the Iraqi capital, to Baghdad for treatment after he was wounded in the attacks outside the provincial government headquarters in Ramadi, Anbar's provincial capital. The attack in Ramadi, 60 miles west of Baghdad, appeared to target the governor's convoy as he made his way to work.

Police Colonel Jabbar Ajaj said that a suicide bomber detonated explosives in a vehicle in the initial blast, followed shortly by a second suicide attack by a bomber on foot.