Three major bombings in less than a week will be causing some anxiety among political leaders in Baghdad and Washington.  Last Thursday 10 people were killed by a car bomb at a crowded cattle market in Babel province, south of Baghdad.  On Sunday more than 30 died when a suicide bomber riding a motorbike blew himself up at a police academy in the capital. Tuesday's bombing in Abu Ghraib also killed and wounded a large number of people - including journalists and local officials.
Some journalists and local officials were killed in one of the three bombings in the Baghdad area.