At least 30 people have been killed and 60 wounded in a series of bombings in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
In the religiously mixed district of al-Saidiyah in southern Baghdad, a bomb at a petrol station left 10 civilians dead and a further 60 wounded.
It is understood a truck exploded next to people who were lining up to buy petrol at the outlet.
A short time later a second blast in a vehicle workshop in the central district of Nahda killed 10 people and wounded 15.
Another car bomb blew up near a children's hospital in al-Sinaa in eastern Baghdad, killing four people and wounding 14.
And a further six people were killed in separate shootings and bombings around the capital, including an attack at the al-Mustansiriyah University.
New offensive
Earlier, the US military announced that a new offensive 'on a scale not seen in Iraq before' will be launched against militants.
It comes as an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said about 1,000 Iraqi civilians, security personnel and militants had died in the past week alone.
A command centre overseeing the crackdown is being put in place today.
The centre will be overseen by an Iraqi officer, General Abboud Gambar, a Shia who fought US forces in the 1991 Gulf War.
Meanwhile, President George W Bush is expected to ask Congress today to authorise €190 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while boosting other military spending and curbing domestic programmes.
Mr Bush has pledged to balance the budget in five years and is adamant about his aim of extending his tax cuts that Democrats have called fiscally irresponsible.
Democrats, who now have control of both Houses of Congress, have said they will object to any proposal that might cut funds for children's health care and other domestic programmes.
