Baghdad car bomb kills ten

Ten people were killed and seven wounded when a car bomb struck a vegetable market in southern Baghdad.

Police said the bomb went off along a commercial street in the Bayaa neighbourhood of the Iraqi capital.

US and Iraqi forces launched a crackdown in Baghdad two weeks ago, but bombings and other attacks persisted. US commanders have urged patience, saying it will take time for the offensive against militants to have a lasting impact.

Meanwhile, the US said it will attend regional conferences on stabilising Iraq to which Iran and Syria have also been invited - opening the way to a dialogue that critics have long demanded.

Washington accuses Iran and Syria of fuelling the violence in Iraq.

The US has spurned suggestions - including in the December report of a high-level Iraq Study Group - that recommended it should reach out to both to try to stabilise Iraq.

Washington brands both countries state sponsors of terrorism and says Iranian elements have provided sophisticated roadside bombs used in Iraq.

It accuses Syria of fanning the strife by failing to control its border.

The mid-March meeting would be a chance for Western and regional powers to try to bridge some of their differences, Iraqi foreign minister Hoshiyar Zebari said.

Mr Zebari said: "Our hope is that this will be an ice-breaking attempt for maybe holding other meetings in the future.

"We want Iraq, instead of being a divisive issue, to be a unifying issue."

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