Two bombings in Iraq Thursday killed at least 40 people and injured dozens.
The deadliest attack was at a Baghdad restaurant frequented by police and security forces. Officials say a suicide bomber entered the cafe and set off his explosive belt, killing at least 33 people.
Al-Qaida in Iraq, led by Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility in an unverifiable Internet posting.
To the north, in Tikrit, a car bomb exploded outside an Iraqi army recruiting center, killing at least seven people.
In the southeast, Iraqi soldiers found the bodies of 27 people killed execution style near the Iranian border.
And the U.S. military says American and Iraqi forces have begun clearing operations against insurgents in the town of Karabilah. The town is about two kilometers east of Husaybah, where Operation Steel Curtain began six days ago.