Iraq to execute 11 bombers for attack that killed 95

Eleven Iraqis were sentenced to death today for the Baghdad truck bombings in August that killed 95 people and wounded more than 1,000.

The bombers targeted the heavily-guarded foreign and finance ministries six weeks after American troops withdrew from urban centres.

An Iraqi parliamentary committee reported this week that members of the security forces were complicit in the blast and two other bombings in Baghdad and recommended replacing officials in the defence and interior ministries.

Violence in Iraq has declined but a series of bombings last year damaged confidence in the ability of prime minister Nuri al-Maliki and Iraqi soldiers and police to contain the insurgency. Elections are planned for 7 March and American troops are scheduled to leave the country in August.

There have recently been attacks in Western Anbar province, Iraq's Sunni heartland, targeting government officials and security forces.