It was the first major strike since Maliki named a new cabinet on December 21, ending nine months of stalemate after March elections.

15 Iraqis were killed on Wednesday in two different suicide attacks, which shattered a relative calm in the country following the formation of a new government by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki last month.

In a deadly attack, a suicide bomber rammed an ambulance packed with explosives into a security headquarters, killing 13 people in the second major attack against Iraqi forces in as many days
We have so far received 13 bodies, and are treating 64 wounded," Firaz al-Dulaimi, a doctor at Baquba hospital, said, referring to the attack that took place in the Diyala provincial capital.
The 10:00 am (0700 GMT) bomb in the middle of Baquba targeted an office of the Force Protection Service, the agency responsible for securing the country's government buildings

About 90 minutes later in the nearby town of Ghalbiyah, also lies in Diyala province, a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-filled car in the midst of a crowd of faithful visitors, killing two people and wounding 16, an official in the provincial security command said.
Among the wounded were Diyala deputy governor Sadiq al-Husseini and three of his bodyguards.

The attacks came a day after a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-packed vest in the middle of a crowd of police recruits in the central city of Tikrit, killing 50 people and wounding up to 150.
It was the first major strike since Maliki named a new cabinet on December 21, ending nine months of stalemate after March elections.