Iraq violence kills 15 as January toll tops 800

BAGHDAD, Jan 25 (AFP): Shelling and bombings across Iraq killed 15 people on Saturday as militants bombed a key bridge linking the capital to north Iraq, the latest in a surge of nationwide violence.
The latest bloodshed, which pushed the death toll for January to more than 800, comes just months ahead of parliamentary elections slated to take place on April 30, and has stoked fears Iraq is slipping back into all-out conflict.
Faced with a weeks-long standoff in Anbar province west of Baghdad and Iraq's worst protracted unrest since 2008, authorities have been urged by foreign leaders to pursue political reconciliation in a bid to undercut support for militants.
But Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has taken a hard line, and officials have trumpeted security operations.