Insurgents in Iraq carried out a series of attacks against security forces in Baghdad early Thursday, killing more than 20 people.

Police say a suicide bombing at an army recruitment center in a western part of the capital killed at least 13 people and wounded several others.

Elsewhere in Baghdad, nine policemen were killed when gunmen ambushed two police patrols. And, a security guard was killed in a car bomb blast that was apparently aimed at a senior Interior Ministry official, who escaped injuries.

Meanwhile, the death toll from Wednesday's suicide bombing in the northern Kurdish city of Irbil has risen to 60.

The militant group Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility for that attack, saying it was in retaliation for Kurdish cooperation with U.S. and coalition forces.

Insurgents have stepped up attacks across Iraq since Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced a partial cabinet last week.