Reports noted that a car bomb blast followed by a suicide attack in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi killed at least eight people, including five policemen, as part of nationwide violence that left 12 dead. Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province has often been the target of attacks in recent months, despite a drop in violence across Iraq since its peak in 2006 and 2007. An interior ministry official said a roadside bomb along a main road in the Ghadeer neighbourhood of central Baghdad also killed two people and wounded three others including a traffic policeman, The apparent surge in attacks came after Maliki formed a government in December, ending nine months of political deadlock following parliamentary elections in March.1

• 1. “Twin attacks rock west Iraq, 12 dead nationwide,” Khaleej Times, February 3, 2011, at http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2...