IRAQ |Developments

The latest developments in Iraq:
Five suicide bombers struck Shiite marketplaces in northeast Baghdad and a town north of the capital at nightfall Thursday, killing at least 122 people and wounding more than 150 in one of Iraq's deadliest days in years. At least 178 people were killed or found dead Thursday, which marked the end of the seventh week of the latest U.S.-Iraqi military drive to curtail violence in Baghdad and surrounding regions.
The surge of violence greeted the arrival of the new U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, who was sworn in Thursday. Forsaking an elaborate Washington ceremony, Crocker chose to have a brief event in the embassy in Baghdad. Crocker takes over for Zalmay Khalilzad, who served for 21 months in the top diplomatic post in Iraq.
The Japanese Cabinet approved a two-year extension of Japan's air force mission in Iraq after it expires in July, the foreign minister announced today. Tokyo has been airlifting U.N. and coalition personnel and supplies into Baghdad and other Iraqi cities from nearby Kuwait since earlier last year as part of efforts to support reconstruction in Iraq. The mission is set to end July 31.
Source: Associated Press