- SAMARRA, Iraq - Eleven Iraqis,
mostly security forces, have been killed over the past 24 hours in attacks
north and south of Baghdad, security sources said Wednesday.
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- Iraq has enjoyed a period of relative calm since Sunday's
landmark elections despite threats by insurgents to continue their deadly
campaign against the government and US-led forces.
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- Two soldiers and a civilian were killed Wednesday when
clashes erupted between rebels and an army patrol in the restive Sunni
city of Samarra, north of Baghdad.
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- "The civilian was driving close to where the clashes
happened," said an army officer.
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- Another soldier was killed and one wounded when their
patrol was targeted by a bomb around dawn near Dhuluiya, about 70 kilometers
(45 miles) north of Baghdad, the army said.
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- Late Tuesday, a bomb apparently intended for a passing
US army patrol killed two civilians driving in a car at Dijla, about 30
kilometers (18 miles) north of the capital, police said.
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- Gunmen also killed two policemen near Baquba, an interior
ministry source said.
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- In Iskandariyah, south of Baghdad, four civilians were
injured in a gunfight between police and gunmen, the source said, adding
that police in the town also caught a suspected "terrorist" leader.
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- South of Baghdad in Hilla, capital of Babil province,
a police major and his driver were shot dead and one policeman was gunned
down north of Baghdad in Tamiya, the source added.
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- Police in Diyala also captured an Iranian who confessed
he came to Iraq to fight the US army, the source said.
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- Meanwhile, an oil pipeline linking two of Iraq's major
refineries was attacked near Samarra, police and oil sources said.
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- The pipeline, linking the Baiji refinery north of Baghdad
to the Dura refinery in the capital, was hit by two bombs which exploded
and caused a fire, police Lieutenant Colonel Mahmud Mohammed said.
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- "The sabotaged pipeline has a capacity of 7,000
barrels per day," an official at the Baiji refinery told AFP, without
specifying the extent of damage or how long repairs would take.
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- The cluster of pipelines, a crucial source of power in
the capital, has been targeted by relentless attacks, which are an important
part of the insurgency's activities and have slowed the country's recovery.
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- According to Finance Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, attacks
on the country's oil infrastructure have cost Iraq seven to eight billion
dollars in exports since the March 2003 US-led invasion.
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