In the worst attack, a truck bomb hit a market in northern Iraq, killing at least 40 people and leaving 90 injured and others trapped in rubble. About 22 more people died overnight in Diyala province when a suicide bomber hit a cafe that was hosting a funeral.

Elsewhere, police said a family of seven sleeping on a Baghdad rooftop died when a mortar hit the building. The dead reportedly included a couple and their four children, aged nine to 17, as well as a relative.

Many Iraqis choose to spend hot summer nights sleeping on the roof of their home because of frequent electricity failures.

Police in Kirkuk said the market bombing in the small village of Amirli destroyed several houses and left many trapped in the wreckage.

Rescuers were forced to move injured people to Tuz Khurmato, the nearest major town, some 28 miles away, for medical attention, with some said to have died on the way.

Correspondents say the market bombing could have been linked to political developments in the region, where a referendum on the status of Kirkuk province is supposed to take place by the end of this year. Kirkuk lies outside Iraqi Kurdistan but is claimed by many Kurds for their national capital.

In other violence, the US and British military also confirmed new deaths. In the latest incident two British soldiers died and two others were injured in southern Iraq during a night of heavy fighting in Basra. The US said six of its troops have died in recent days.