Bombings kill 10 in Iraq

A bomb killed six Iraqi soldiers south of Baghdad today, while another blast in the country's north left four civilians dead, officials said.
Iraq is suffering a protracted surge in violence to a level not seen since 2008, which authorities have so far failed to stem.
A roadside bomb exploded near an army patrol in the Jurf al-Sakhr area, where mortar rounds wounded 12 police on yesterday. Six soldiers were killed, an officer and a hospital employee said.
Another blast in the northern town of Tuz Khurmatu killed four people and wounded eight, while two more blasts wounded three police and another civilian.

Both security force personnel and civilians are targeted in the daily bombings and shootings that plague Iraq.
Foreign leaders have urged the Shiite-led government to do more to reach out to the disaffected Sunni Arab minority but Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has taken a hard line ahead of a general election scheduled for April.