Bombers kill Iraq police recruits

Crowds of young male volunteers were gathered at the base when the bombers detonated explosive belts.

Meanwhile, 33 bodies were recovered in Baghdad and nearby Diyala province in the past 24 hours, police told the BBC.

Iraq's prime minister has called for a comprehensive cabinet reshuffle "in the light of the current situation".

Nouri Maliki's call was made to a closed session of parliament, a statement from his office said.

Reuters news agency reports that mortar rounds were fired at the police recruiting centre, in the Qadissiya neighbourhood, shortly after the bombers struck.

Sunni Arab insurgents frequently attack recruiting centres for the US-backed Iraqi government's security forces.

A series of other bomb attacks in and around the Iraqi capital on Sunday left at least 10 people dead:

• At least four civilians were killed and 10 others wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol in the east of the city; a further blast nearby caused no injuries
• A car bomb outside a market in central Karrada district killed at least one person and wounded five others
• A roadside bomb killed at least two people and wounded 13 others in Radwaniya, south-west of the city
• A car bomb near a primary school killed three people and wounded 15, including students, in the town of Yusufiya, 15km (nine miles) south of Baghdad

The attacks took place as the Iraqi authorities searched for gunmen who ambushed several minibuses on Saturday in the town of Yusufiya, south of Baghdad.

At least 12 passengers were said to have been killed and about 50 others abducted.

Yusufiya is a Sunni Muslim stronghold which has become notorious for attacks on Shia Muslims and American troops.

The latest bloodshed comes a day before US President George W Bush is due to meet the Iraq Study Group - a committee chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker - to talk about US strategy in Iraq.