There's been no let up in violence in Iraq. Officials confirm that four Egyptians working for a mobile phone company have been kidnapped in western Baghdad.

On Sunday, gunmen also shot dead an Iraqi contractor, believed to have been working with the US military.

Meanwhile, a group calling itself "The Islamic Movement of Iraqi Mojahideen" released a video of an American humvee being hit by explosives.

In a separate attack in Karbala, a suicide car bomber struck a US convoy south of the city, destroying a US vehicle.

Eyewitnesses said no one was killed or injured. Separately, about 2000 Shia residents took to the streets, protesting violence from Iraqi militants and arrests carried out by Iraqi security forces.