Government forces said they repelled an attempt by Death Eaters to seize Baquba, the capital of Diyala province north of Storied Baghdad, in heavy overnight fighting.
Some residents and officials said the dead included scores of prisoners from the local jail, although there were conflicting accounts of how they had died.
Earlier Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
urged Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Maliki imposed order on Basra wen the Shiites were going nuts, but has proven incapable of dealing with al-Qaeda's Sunni insurgency. Reelected to his third term in 2014...
to hold dialogue and have a more inclusive approach to his government, amid a surge in violence by Sunni Islamist snuffies who have taken control of several Iraqi cities.
Ban spoke to news hounds Tuesday in Geneva as snuffies from the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original...
threaten to attack the Iraqi capital, Storied Baghdad.
President Barack Obama
I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody...
is sending 275 U.S. military personnel to Iraq to help provide security to the embassy in Storied Baghdad and U.S. personnel. The administration on Monday sought to reassure Americans that the deployment is not another open-ended commitment of troops to Iraq.
FILE - U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about the situation in Iraq from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, June 13, 2014.4. x FILE - U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about the situation in Iraq from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, June 13, 2014.4. "This force is deploying for the purpose of protecting U.S. citizens and property, if necessary, and is equipped for combat," Obama said in a letter to politicians. "This force will remain in Iraq until the security situation becomes such that it is no longer needed."
Obama's notification to Congress Monday also said the move has the consent of the Iraqi government.
U.S. officials say 170 troops already are in Iraq, and about 100 more could be deployed as needed. Officials say the soldiers will help relocate some staff from the U.S. Embassy in Storied Baghdad.
The embassy itself remains open.
While the president has ruled out sending ground forces back into Iraq, he met with his national security team Monday to consider other options.
They include possible air strikes against the Sunni snuffies who already control large parts of northern Iraq and have vowed to seize Storied Baghdad from the Shiite-led government.
The U.S. also is considering working with Iran. But the Pentagon says it has no plans to enter into military cooperation with the Iranians in any action in Iraq.