Bombings and shootings killed up to 61 people in Iraq on Tuesday, including at least 26 soldiers, undermining the government’s attempts to show it can suppress unremitting violence. A roadside bomb attack on a bus filled with Iraqi troops on a road between Tikrit and Baiji, north of Baghdad, killed at least 23, the army said.

Bombs killed at least 40 people on Tuesday, half of them Iraqi soldiers, in the latest blow to the new government’s efforts to inspire confidence in the country’s security forces. The most dramatic blast was a roadside bomb attack on a bus filled with soldiers on a road between Tikrit and Baiji north of Baghdad. At least 20 of them were killed.

The trial of Saddam Hussein and seven of his top lieutenants for crimes against humanity was adjourned on Thursday to October when the verdict carrying the maximum penalty of death is expected to be delivered. ”The court decided to adjourn the session … until October 16,” said Chief Judge Raouf Abdel Rahman.

Saddam Hussein, weak from a hunger strike, said on Wednesday that he has been forced to attend his trial for crimes against humanity and that he would prefer to be shot than hung if found guilty. The entire defence team boycotted the latest session in the controversial trial which is approaching its conclusion.

A defiant Saddam Hussein, who has been receiving medical care for his hunger strike to protest against his trial for crimes against humanity, said on Wednesday that he was brought to court against his will. The defence team for the former leader and seven co-accused boycotted the latest session in a trial approaching its conclusion.

Iraqi authorities extended a daytime curfew on Baghdad on Friday in an apparent effort to prevent violence after one of the bloodiest weeks this year. State television announced a four-hour traffic ban in force every Friday of late to curb car bomb attacks on mosques during weekly prayers would be extended through most of the day.