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Iraqi officials say four car bombs have struck Shiite mosques in Baghdad, killing at least 19 people and wounding 72.

Coordinated blasts in Baghdad killed at least 21 people near the heavily fortified Green Zone. NBCNews.com's Richard Lui reports.

Baghdad's decision comes on the same day Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, visits Iraq and warns that the US needs to know soon whether a training mission will proceed.

Suicide bombers detonated two explosives-laden vehicles early Tuesday near a government compound south of Baghdad, killing at least 22 people and wounding dozens, Iraqi officials said. The attacks come as Iraq’s top political factions started to discuss in earnest whether to ask some of the U.S. troops to stay beyond the Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline because of the security situation.

Rapid-fire bombings and mortar strikes killed 62 people and wounded 180 across Baghdad's mostly Shiite neighborhoods Tuesday night, calling into question the ability of Iraqi security forces to protect the capital.

The group, which has claimed a series of attacks in recent weeks, raised its flag after attacks on police Thursday.

Vice President Joe Biden landed Saturday on what appeared to be a dual mission in Baghdad: to visit U.S. troops during the July Fourth weekend and coax Iraqi leaders into ending their government impasse.

Iraq's electoral commission on Sunday affirmed the victory of a Sunni-backed bloc in the March election after a partial recount of votes in Baghdad failed to back up the Shiite prime minister's claims of fraud.

The cross-sectarian coalition that took a narrow lead in Iraq's inconclusive March 7 election said on Tuesday it supported a recount of votes cast in Baghdad, but expressed concern over how it would be conducted.

The investigative organization WikiLeaks on Monday released military video of what it describes as three incidents of an "indiscriminate slaying" by U.S. forces near Baghdad on July 12, 2007.