A series of explosions and other violence in Iraq has left at least 16 people dead, including a senior Iraqi army general.
An Iraqi official says Major General Mubdar Hatim al-Dulaimi was assassinated Monday in Baghdad when gunmen opened fire along the route of his convoy. Elsewhere in the capital, car bombs killed at least three policeman and a civilian.
And in the religiously mixed city of Baquba, about 65 kilometers north of Baghdad, another car bomb killed six people, including two children, and injured at least 21.
Separately, a new ABC News-Washington Post poll says 80 percent of Americans think the Shi'ite-Sunni tensions will lead to a civil war in Iraq.
The poll also found about 50 percent of Americans think the U.S. is making progress in establishing a democratic government in Iraq, down from about two-thirds who thought so after Iraq's elections in December.
In other news, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Monday he will call on the country's new parliament to hold its first session on March 12. Mr. Talabani says that date is the last day Iraq's constitution allows for holding the session.
The move starts a 60-day period during which the legislature must elect a new head of state and approve a prime minister and cabinet.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.