Many Killed in String of Iraq Bomb Blasts

A series of car bombings and a roadside explosion have killed at least 26 people and injured more than 100 others across Iraq. In Baghdad, a car bomb targeting an army general's convoy blew up near the Palestine hotel in an area frequented by foreigners, killing a guard in the convoy. General Qassim Nouri, in charge of security at the Baghdad municipality, was unhurt, according to police sources. The explosion was in Firdos Square, famed for scenes of the toppling of the huge statue of Saddam Hussein shortly after the 2003 US-led invasion. Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf reports from Baghdad.