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At least 15 dead in Iraq attacks
January 11, 2005
At least 15 people have been killed in the latest violence in Iraq.
Six police officers died and more were wounded in a suspected suicide car bombing outside a police station in Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit.

South of Baghdad, seven Iraqis were killed in a roadside attack, while at least two people died in a bombing in the city of Samarra.

Iraq's interim government has announced it has set aside $2.2bn of this year's budget to strengthen security.

Elsewhere in Iraq:

About 300 lorry drivers - mostly Syrians - are being detained by US forces in Iraq near the border with Syria. The US has made no comment, but has said in the past that Syria is not doing enough to provide security on its border with Iraq.

At least six people were injured in two attacks - one thought to be a suicide bombing - near in the interior ministry building and a police station in the southern city of Basra late on Monday.
Violence has been escalating in Iraq ahead of general elections due to take place on 30 January.

The attacks come a day after Baghdad's deputy police chief and his son were killed in an ambush.

Sunni resistance

Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has announced plans to fund an increase in the number of Iraqi troops from over 60,000 to 150,000.

"We need to equip the police and army with the new modern weaponry that will enable them to protect the country," he added.

The blast in Tikrit happened in the north of the town at about 0930 (0630 GMT), the US military said.

INSURGENT VIOLENCE MOUNTS
11 Jan: 15 Iraqis killed in separate attacks across the country
10 Jan: Baghdad deputy police chief and son shot dead
7 Jan: Seven US soldiers killed in Baghdad bomb attack
6 Jan: Bodies of 18 Iraqis contracted to work at US base found outside Mosul
5 Jan: At least 25 Iraqis killed in three attacks in central Iraq
4 Jan: Governor of Baghdad, 14 Iraqis and five US soldiers killed in separate attacks
3 Jan: More than 20 people killed across Iraq
2 Jan: At least 23 Iraqi soldiers killed by a car bomb in Balad

The city, 165km (100 miles) north-west of Baghdad, is one of the centres of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq.

In recent weeks, insurgents have mounted almost daily attacks on security forces, while Sunni leaders have threatened to boycott the coming elections unless the occupying US-led forces are withdrawn from Iraq.

South of Baghdad, seven people died when a roadside bomb exploded in Yussifiya, 15km (9 miles) south of Baghdad.

It is thought the device missed a passing US military convoy and hit a passing minibus instead.

In another account, gunmen opened fire on the vehicle, although it is not clear if the report refers to the same incident.

Two Iraqis were killed in an attack on a joint US-Iraqi patrol in the city of Samarra, about 95km (60 miles) north of Baghdad.

The death of Baghdad's deputy police chief on Monday was the second killing of a senior official in less than a week.

Last Tuesday, Baghdad governor Ali al-Haidri was shot dead in a roadside ambush.


Source: BBCNEWS


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