24 Killed in Bombings, Shootings Across Iraq

The rewards of intervention

A new wave of bombings and a shooting in Iraq killed at least 24 civilians on Tuesday, as insurgents try to exploit the country's political instability and undermine government efforts to maintain security.

The deadliest attack took place in the town of Youssifiyah just south of Baghdad, when gunmen stormed a house and shot dead two women and four men as they were ritually cleansing the body of a Sunni man ahead of his funeral, said police.

In the nearby town of Latifiyah, a bomb hidden inside a coffee shop killed four and wounded 14, a police officer said.