Iraqi American Sami Rasouli was a well-known restaurateur in Minneapolis. In 2004, in the midst of the war and occupation - three decades after leaving Iraq - he returned to his home country to help it recover from the war and U.S. occupation. Rasouli has spent much of his time in the Shiite holy city of Najaf where he was born. He also helped establish the Muslim Peacemaker Team. He recently returned for a visit back to Minneapolis where he joins us today for an extended interview. [includes rush transcript]

At least 11 people have been killed and more than 90 injured after a suicide truck bomb attack in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk today. Among the casualties were children from a nearby school. Meanwhile, two truck bombs exploded in Mosul on Sunday killing two people and wounding 22.

In other violence, the bodies of nineteen men kidnapped at a fake checkpoint in Baghdad were found today. All had been shot in the head. Meanwhile six US soldiers were killed over the weekend in roadside bombings south of Baghdad.

The latest bloodshed comes a day after Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain paid a heavily guarded visit to a Baghdad market. McCain said afterwards the American people were not being given the full picture of the progress being made in curbing violence in the capital.

Iraqi figures estimate civilian deaths in violence across the country rose 15% over February to more than 2,000. More than 600 Iraqis have been killed in the past week alone. Among them were at least 152 people killed in a suicide truck bombing in Tal Afar - the deadliest single attack since the war began four years ago. Shiite gunmen, including police, went on a revenge shooting rampage afterwards, killing at least 45 Sunni men.

Meanwhile in Washington, Democrats in the House and Senate have pushed through war-funding bills that set timetables for withdrawing US forces. The measures need to be reconciled before they are sent to President Bush who has promised to veto them.

Our guest today is an Iraqi American who has been living in Iraq for most of the past three years. His name is Sami Rasouli. We first spoke to Sami on Democracy Now! in 2004 just before he left Minnesota to return to his home country to help it recover from the war and U.S. occupation.

In Iraq, Sami Rasouli has spent much of his time in the Shiite holy city of Najaf where he was born. He also helped establish the Muslim Peacemaker Team. He recently returned for a visit back to Minneapolis where he joins us now.

• Sami Rasouli