US military officials say at least 22 people have been killed in a series of attacks in Iraq, bringing the death toll to more than 70 after three days of intensified violence around the country.
In the biggest attack on Sunday insurgents opened fire on a bus carrying Iraqis to work at a US military site in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, killing 17 people.
Also today, a car bomb attack killed at least three Iraqi National Guardsmen in the town of Beiji, north of Baghdad, and at least two Iraqis were killed in attacks in Samarra and Latifiyah.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi Red Crescent says the US military has ordered it to evacuate relief workers from the battleground city of Fallujah until further notice. The IRC attributed the evacuation to ongoing security concerns.