The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Baghdad

A spate of attacks targeting security forces in the heart of Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul killed around 30 people on Monday-the bloodiest day in Iraq in three weeks.

The bloodshed coincided with the release of official Iraqi ministry figures showing that violence across the nation climbed in November, with 340 Iraqis killed compared with 317 in October.

In Baghdad, 15 people died and dozens were wounded, including young police recruits and civilians, when a suicide bomber and a car bomb exploded in quick succession near a police academy, the interior ministry said.

The US military released a statement saying that 12 people were killed and 35 others wounded in the attack, which it blamed on Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

The blasts took place on a stretch of road that reopened just two months ago after being closed for two years following a previous suicide attack.

Hours later, another 15 people were killed and 30 were wounded when a suicide car bomb ploughed into a joint US-Iraqi patrol in Mosul, police said.

The US military gave a lower toll, saying eight Iraqi civilians were killed and 36 people were wounded, including four US soldiers and two Iraqi policemen.

The military views Mosul as an urban stronghold of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which is believed to be behind scores of suicide bombings.

Iraq has seen dramatic improvements in security over the past year as US and Iraqi forces have allied with local militias to drive out insurgents, but some regions, including Baghdad, still see near-daily attacks.