At least 23 people have been killed in a series of attacks in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
A car bomb attack in a commercial district in the southwest of the city left 10 civilians dead and another 24 wounded.
The blast in the mainly Shia district occurred in a shopping area known as 'Street Number 20'.
A further 13 people died in various attacks around Baghdad, including five in a suicide bomb attack on a police station in the centre of the city.
Amid the continuing violence, US spokesperson Admiral Mark Fox acknowledged that there had been an increase in the number of bombings devices since the deployment of thousands more US and Iraqi troops as part of the Baghdad security plan.
However Admiral Fox pointed to a reduction in the levels of abductions and 'extra-judicial killings' since the plan came into force, and said it would 'be months not weeks' before the effectiveness of the operation could be judged.
He said that over the previous week Iraqi and US forces had seized a total of 167 suspects and had set up 15 fortified joint security stations around the capital.
The US claims many Shia militia leaders have gone into hiding or have been arrested in raids over the past week, and it claims six alleged al-Qaeda were killed in air strikes north of the capital in recent days.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called an international security conference where he will urge regional neighbours to put pressure on armed factions to halt the bloodshed.
Mr Maliki said neighbouring countries, permanent members of the UNSC, the UN, Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference had been invited to send envoys.
The US and Syria have confirmed that they will take part in the conference and Iran has said it will likely accept the invitation.
