Suicide bombers have killed 46 people in Iraq in two separate attacks targeting government-backed militia members.
One bomber blew himself up as anti-al-Qaeda fighters gathered at an office west of Baghdad to receive their pay, killing 43 people and wounding 40.
A second bomber struck in a militia office in the town of Al-Qaim, near the Syrian border, killing three people and wounding six.
Most of the dead in both attacks were Sahwa fighters, members of a Sunni Arab militia, also known as the Sons of Iraq, that took up arms against al Qaeda in 2006. The BBC reports they were formerly allied with al Qaeda.
Iraq is in a political vacuum following inconclusive elections in March. Sunni, Shia and Kurdish factions have failed to agree on a new coalition government.
