The deaths of more than 100 people in violence between Iraqi security forces and Sunni Arab protesters and their supporters have raised fears of a return to all-out sectarian conflict. The trouble began on Tuesday when security forces moved into an area near the northern town of Hawijah where Sunnis had been holding protests since January, sparking clashes in which 53 people died. That fighting set off a wave of revenge attacks that hit five different Sunni-majority provinces, killing dozens more people, and which saw gunmen take control of the town of Sulaiman Bek.

By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi forces stormed a Sunni Muslim protest camp on Tuesday, triggering a gunfight between troops and demonstrators that spread to army clashes with Sunni militants and killed more than 40 people. The fighting was the bloodiest Iraq has seen since thousands of Sunni Muslims started staging protests in December to demand an end to perceived marginalisation of their sect by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's cabinet on Tuesday agreed to hold provincial elections in the Sunni majority provinces of Anbar and Nineveh on July 4, following an earlier decision to postpone voting there because of security concerns. Iraqis across most of the country voted for provincial councils on Saturday in their first ballot since U.S. troops left the country. Results are still pending, but the outcome will be a key measure of Iraq's political stability before parliamentary elections next year.

By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 23 people were killed when Iraqi security forces stormed a Sunni Muslim protest camp near Kirkuk on Tuesday, triggering a gun battle between troops and protesters and provoking insurgent attacks in other areas. It was the worst fighting Iraq has seen since thousands of Sunni Muslims started staging protests in December to demand an end to perceived marginalisation of their sect by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government.