Multiple suicide bombings struck areas in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Anbar province, and about 350 Iraqi civilians and six US troops had to be treated for exposure to chlorine gas, the military said today.

The new Hamas-Fatah coalition was to set to clear a final formal hurdle today, approval by the parliament, before taking on the challenge of persuading a sceptical world to end a crippling year-long boycott of the Palestinian government.

A suicide bomber driving a tanker truck detonated his explosives in a line of cars waiting to enter Fallujah, killing at least six people and wound dozens, police said today.