Around the World: Iraq

23 killed in multiple blasts

Staggered explosions yesterday killed 23 people - 13 of them policemen - and wounded an Iraqi provincial governor, officials said, in the worst violence in months to hit the western province that was formerly Al-Qaida's top stronghold in Iraq.

The strategically important Anbar province was once the heartland of support for Al-Qaida-linked militants, before many insurgents turned on the terror organization and joined forces with the US and the Iraqi government. While violence in Iraq has dropped considerably since the height of the conflict in 2006 and 2007, a reinvigorated insurgency in Anbar, Iraq's largest province, could pose a serious risk to the country's stability as it prepares for elections in March.