In Baghdad, 19 people were killed in the violence between Iraq’s two main Arab communities, including 17 radical Shiite militiamen.
The clashes came as Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish political parties took their marks in a race set to end in Dec 15 general elections.
Two policemen also died in the ensuing firefight, while 12 militiamen were wounded.
The intercommunal tension came after U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad forecast that political progress might allow the United States to withdraw some of its 140,000 troops from Iraq next year.
Politicians from Iraq’s main parties forged election alliances ahead of a Friday deadline to register candidates for the second parliamentary vote.
