Around 50 fighters mounted a seven-hour attack on Iraqi security forces on Monday in the Adhamiya district of Baghdad, forcing US troops to provide support for Iraqi forces for length of the battle.
A military statement said that "multiple homicide car bombs, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and heavy machine gun and small arms fire" were used in the attack, according to Reuters. Five fighters were killed and one Iraqi soldier was wounded.
Such attacks are uncommon in Baghdad, though they occur frequently in Iraq's restive Anbar province.
In a separate attack in the town of Ramadi west of the capital, a mosque and a government center were targeted by fighters, though Iraqi troops managed to fend them off.
Also on Monday, the bodies of at least 12 Iraqis were discovered in Baghdad according to Iraqi security forces. Some of the bodies showed signs of torture.
A total of forty-one people were killed in widespread violence over the weekend.
As such attacks become more frequent, some fear the feasibility of Iraqi leaders overcoming sectarian differences and quelling future violence.
Authenticity of Saddam handwriting confirmed
Meanwhile, court experts on Monday's session of the trial against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein confirmed the authenticity of Saddam's signature on documents related to the 1982 killing of 148 Shiites in the town of Dujail.
In an earlier session of the trial, the former leader refused to confirm or deny his signature, according to the AP.
He has also claimed that it was his rightful duty to take action in Dujail after an assassination attempt on his life in the town.
