Insurgents in Iraq intensified their campaign of violence Thursday, killing at least 47 people at a Shi'ite funeral in the northern city of Mosul.
Witnesses say a suicide bomber entered the mosque during the service and detonated his explosives. Hospital officials said more than 80 others were wounded in the blast.
In Baghdad, a local police chief and two colleagues were shot and killed on their way to work. A fourth police officer was killed in another Baghdad neighborhood.
On the political front, the Shi'ite-dominated United Iraqi Alliance and a Kurdish coalition are close to finalizing a deal for a new government to be named when the National Assembly meets next Wednesday.
Both sides say the deal paves the way for Shi'ite politician Ibrahim al-Jaafari to become prime minister and Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani to become president. The Shi'ites have also agreed to address Kurdish concerns about the city of Kirkuk in the new constitution.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.