At least 21 people have been killed and 27 others wounded in a suicide bombing in the west of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
A suicide bomber wearing a belt of explosives walked into a queue of people seeking to enlist in the Iraqi security forces and detonated the device.
The al-Qaeda wing in Iraq led by the Jordanian militant, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has claimed responsibility for the attack, which is the deadliest single insurgent attack since last month's elections.
Separately, an attempt to ambush an Iraqi politician has resulted in the deaths of two of his sons.
Mithal al-Alusi, Secretary General of the Democratic Party of the Iraqi Nation, survived the attack which also took place in west Baghdad.
Speaking in London, the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said it would be a severe miscalculation for either Iran or Syria to allow insurgents to cross into Iraq in order to weaken the Americans and reduce the chance of an attack on themselves.
Mr Blair was speaking before the House of Commons Liaison Committee this morning.
