Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi says he will more than double the size of Iraq's army to 150,000 troops, in the face of a deadly insurgency that has killed more than 100 Iraqis over the past week alone.
In Baghdad, Mr. Allawi said Tuesday he has allocated $2.2 billion in this year's budget to expand the army and upgrade its weaponry.
Meanwhile, violence across Iraq continues. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terrorist network claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack in Tikrit that killed six policemen and wounded several others.
In an area known as the "triangle of death" south of Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded, killing at least seven people in a passing minibus.
And following an explosion, firefighters battled a pipeline fire north of the capital.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.