AP - Militants flew an al-Qaida flag over a Baghdad neighborhood Thursday after killing 16 security officials and burning some of their bodies in a brazen afternoon attack that served as a grim reminder of continued insurgent strength in Iraq's capital.

Reuters - Attackers killed at least 12 people and wounded 31 in a series of shootings and explosions across Iraq on Thursday, security and hospital sources said.

AFP - The lack of a government in Iraq nearly five months after general elections is "embarrassing" and is impeding any long-term decision-making, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told AFP on Thursday.

AFP - Sixteen people, including nine security force members, were killed and 14 wounded on Thursday in a string of attacks in the Iraqi capital's Sunni district of Al-Adhamiyah, the interior ministry said.