Eight dead in fresh Iraq violence

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At least eight people have been killed and dozens wounded in fresh violence in Iraq, and more bodies have been found showing signs of torture.

Two bombs rocked the northern city of Talafar, including a suicide attack in a busy market which killed four people

In Iraq's third city, Mosul, a woman passenger was killed when gunmen fired randomly into a bus station and a nurse died when a private clinic was raided.

Dozens are killed daily in anti-US insurgency and sectarian violence.

The continued violence comes as President George W Bush prepares to unveil his long-awaited new plan aimed at stabilising Iraq, nearly four years after US-led forces overthrew Saddam Hussein.

Meanwhile, in Najaf, Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffaq Rubaie said he gained the support of Iraq's most senior Shia cleric for the government's plans to disarm militias.

Bodies found

The suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded market in the al-Khadra area of Talafar. Twelve people were wounded.

A second bomb, in an explosives-laden car, targeted an official convoy in Talafar.

It killed a child and wounded four people, including three policemen, police said.

Last year, Mr Bush praised Talafar as an Iraqi success story, calling it a "free city that gives reason for hope for a free Iraq".

Four tortured bodies were found on the outskirts of Qaim, 160km (100 miles) from the Syrian border.

Other bodies were discovered in Mahawil Mosul and Iskandariya.

Baghdad clampdown

In the capital Baghdad, police patrolled the Haifa Street area, scene of fierce battles between US and Iraqi forces and Sunni Muslim fighters on Tuesday.

"The fighting has eased now and the Iraqi army has sealed off the entire area," defence ministry spokesman Ibrahim Shaker said in quotes carried by AFP news agency.

Officials said at least 50 militants were killed during Tuesday's battles.

On Tuesday night, four people were killed when a house was destroyed in the Sadr City area. Police and witnesses said a US aircraft had opened fire on it.

There has been no confirmation from the US military.

Elsewhere a car bomb exploded at a petrol station in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad, killing at lease one civilian.

In Falluja, west of the capital, mortar shells exploded near a crowd of police recruits outside police headquarters, killing one person.