Iraq attacks push May death toll past 600 Attacks in Iraq have killed more than 600 people so far this month, officials say. ATTACKS in Iraq, the deadliest of which struck Baghdad, have killed 26 people, pushing the death toll for this month above 600 and sparking fears of all-out sectarian conflict. The UN has called for Iraq's leaders to urgently hold talks to resolve wide-ranging political disputes that have been linked to the surge in unrest. But the government's public response has so far largely been limited to speeches, a shake-up of senior security officers and announcing a series of vague new measures relating to security. "I am seriously concerned," UN envoy Martin Kobler told AFP by telephone from Berlin. This can get worse, and that's why I strongly advocate that this bloodletting is stopped and the situation does not deteriorate. He added that if there was a political agreement, then security would be better. We see it on the contrary right now -- there is no political agreement, and sectarian violence is on the rise. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari echoed those remarks, telling reporters at a news conference in Baghdad if there was no political agreement, then it would affect security, and there would not be a stable security situation. Amid all the statements and pronouncements, the violence has intensified. On Thursday, five car bombs and two other explosions in Baghdad killed 21 people and wounded at least 71, security and medical officials said. Two border policemen were also ambushed along the main Iraq-Jordan highway and shot dead, while three policemen were killed in an early morning suicide car bombing in the northern city of Mosul. Violence a day earlier, including a bombing against a bridal party in south Baghdad, killed 28 people. Security forces on Thursday barred journalists from attending the funeral for victims of the wedding party assault. And 46 more died in unrest on Tuesday. The latest attacks took to 603 the number of people killed in May, with more than 1000 having died in less than two months, according to AFP figures based on reports by security and medical sources.