BBC NEWS | Middle East | New surge of violence hits Iraq

BBC NEWS | Middle East | New surge of violence hits Iraq: "A series of six bomb attacks in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk has killed at least 10 people and injured dozens of others, police say.

And police said at least 40 bodies were found in the town of Balad, mainly Sunnis killed in apparent revenge for the earlier killing of 14 Shias.

Earlier in Baghdad, two bombs hit the convoy of a senior interior ministry official, killing seven people.

Iraq has seen a surge of violence in the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

In a separate development, a coalition of Sunni Muslim insurgents released an internet video statement proclaiming an independent Islamic state covering Baghdad and several other provinces stretching as far north as Kirkuk.

The statement was from the Mutayibeen Coalition, which reports said was formed earlier in the week by the insurgent umbrella group, the Mujahideen Shura Council." Read complete post here.