Iraq Watch: July 11, 2006

Over 60 Killed in Relentless Violence

Violence claimed the lives of over 60 Iraqis on Tuesday as authorities scrambled to contain the increasingly chaotic situation in the nations war-torn and growingly divided capital city.

Tuesday's deadliest incident occurred only yards from the heavily fortified Green Zone which houses Iraq's governmental headquarters as well as the U.S. embassy.

A suicide bomber blew up his explosive-laden vehicle near a restaurant popular with Iraqi police killing some 16 people.

The Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI) claimed responsibility for the early-afternoon bombing in a statement posted on the Internet.

In sectarian bloodshed, purportedly Sunni gunmen ambushed a Shiite funeral procession in Baghdad's volatile Dora neighborhood killing at least 10 mourners.

Near Sharqat, south of Mosul, insurgents killed 10 members of Iraq's Facility Protection Service (FPS) who were guarding oil instillations in the northern, petroleum-rich region.