Bomb attacks around Baghdad killed at least 19 people and wounded 80 on Tuesday as insurgents defied a security crackdown in the Iraqi capital. The first blast echoed around the city at dawn, when a roadside booby trap ripped open a minibus and a taxi in the downtown Nahda area, killing nine people and wounding eight, an interior ministry official said.

Killings and attacks in Baghdad have slumped significantly since the launch of a security plan one month ago, United States officials said on Wednesday, even as car bombs claimed more lives in the capital. "There has been an over 50% reduction in murders and executions" since Operation Fardh al-Qanoon (Imposing Law) began, Major General William Caldwell said.

United States forces killed 49 "criminals" in fierce fighting with militants in Baghdad's Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City on Sunday during a raid targeting an Iranian-linked insurgent. Medics at four hospitals confirmed 17 dead, including a boy and a girl, but US military spokesperson Major Winfield Danielson said there were no civilian casualties and no reports of American losses.

Nearly 400 people have been killed over the past three days in Iraq as insurgents and sectarian militias ripped through a massive United States security crackdown concentrated around Baghdad. A series of coordinated bombings of Shi'ite marketplaces in and north of the capital defied a latest plea from embattled Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Millions of Arabs dream of attaining democracy in 2012, aiming to build on gains from the deadly protests that ousted two dictators.

Officials say Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam is just a "helpless criminal" in the Libyan town of Zintan where he can stay until his trial.

Bomb attacks around Baghdad killed at least 19 people and wounded 80 on Tuesday as insurgents defied a security crackdown in the Iraqi capital. The first blast echoed around the city at dawn, when a roadside booby trap ripped open a minibus and a taxi in the downtown Nahda area, killing nine people and wounding eight, an interior ministry official said.

Killings and attacks in Baghdad have slumped significantly since the launch of a security plan one month ago, United States officials said on Wednesday, even as car bombs claimed more lives in the capital. "There has been an over 50% reduction in murders and executions" since Operation Fardh al-Qanoon (Imposing Law) began, Major General William Caldwell said.