The death toll from a suicide car bomb attack on the funeral of a Shi'ite sheikh rose to at least 50 from 35, doctors said yesterday, as the number killed in a spate of attacks over the past two days rose to 150.

Another 75 people were wounded when the bomber blew up his vehicle near a crowded condolence tent at the tribal sheikh's funeral on Saturday in Abu Sayda, a small town near Baquba, 65 kilometers northeast of Baghdad.

Medical officials in Baquba, who asked not to be identified, said many victims were badly mutilated, making identification difficult.

Baquba police Lieutenant-Colonel Sabah Salih said he saw bodies scattered in the street and the blood of victims mingled with large pots of food that had been made for mourners.

The attack at the funeral capped a bloody two days in Iraq during which six US troops were also killed.

On Saturday, another suicide car bomber killed 13 people and wounded 20 more in an attack on a busy market in the Diyala Bridge area just south of Baghdad.

Five soldiers were killed in two makeshift bomb attacks on a patrol in the northern town of Baiji on Saturday.

Their deaths took the toll of US soldiers killed in Iraq since the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in March 2003 to 2,090, according to information compiled from the military.

A British soldier was also killed by a roadside bomb in Basra, southern Iraq, yesterday and four others were injured, the British Government said.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said yesterday he was willing to talk to violent opponents of his government if they wanted to contact him.

(China Daily November 21, 2005)