Attacks against Iraq security forces kill 19

Three attacks on Iraqi security forces today killed 19 people and wounded more than 50 across Iraq as the country struggles to protect itself while facing the US military's departure at the end of the year.

Two morning bombings and a drive-by shooting at dawn revealed how vulnerable Iraqi forces remain to attacks after more than eight years of war.

Iraqi soldiers and police are a favourite target for militants, and are branded as traitors because of their training and working with American troops.

In the worst attack today, a car bomb parked outside a restaurant where local police were having breakfast killed 15 people and wounded 41 in the southern town of al-Shumali, said Hillah hospital Dr Zuhair al-Khafaji. Deputy governor of Babil province, Faleh al-Mahna, confirmed the toll.

Two of the dead were policemen, and four others were among the wounded, al-Khafaji said. The bodies and wounded victims were brought to his hospital.

Associated Press video of the scene showed charred, rumpled cars outside the eatery that was painted orange and purple. Small groups of men stood ankle-deep in the wreckage.

An eyewitness, who refused to give his name fearing he would be targeted, said the restaurant was full when the car bomb exploded shortly before 8 am. "A lot of travellers and innocent people were inside the place having their breakfast when the car bomb went off," he said.

Al-Shumali is just south of Hillah and about 90 kilometres south of Baghdad. It is also a popular resting place for Shiite pilgrims headed to the holy shrine of the Imam al-Hamza, located four kilometres south of the town.