At least 18 civilians have been reported killed in a suicide car bomb attack in Iraq.
A police official said the explosion happened near a hospital in the town of Musayyib, 70km south of Baghdad, and that American troops had cordoned off the area.
The car was being driven towards the hospital and exploded outside its protective blast walls. 25 other people were wounded.
It followed earlier news of the assassination of a judge in the southern city of Basra.
Yesterday, dual bombings at a mosque and bakery in Iraq killed more than 20 people.
