SAMARRA, Iraq - Seven Iraqi soldiers were killed in various attacks Saturday, security sources said, as a daytime curfew was imposed in the restive town of Samarra, north of Baghdad.
The worst attack left five soldiers dead when their camp in Al-Duluiyah, north of the capital, was hit by mortars at about 03:00 am (0000 GMT) as the new army recruits got up for training, said Captain Assad Saddad.
Another soldier was killed and another wounded when a roadside bomb blew up as they were attempting to diffuse it near the northern oil refining town of Baiji, said Captain Ali Yussif of the army.
He said nine suspected insurgents were arrested in a joint overnight raid with US troops in Al-Siniyah in the Baiji region.
A second roadside bomb in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, killed an Iraqi soldier and wounded three, according to police.
Three Iraqi policemen were also wounded in an ambush by gunmen in the village of Bir, east of Tikrit, said local police. A police officer was wounded in a similar attack in Baquba, said police in this restive city northeast of Baghdad.
Attacks against Iraq's fledgling forces have been relentless as the US military intensifies its efforts to train and equip Iraqis to assume more responsibility for the country's security.
Meanwhile, Iraqi police in the city of Samarra, 120 kilometers (70 miles) north of Baghdad, imposed a curfew from 07:00 am (0400 GMT) to 9:00 pm (1800 GMT) as it sought to prevent an anti-American demonstration called for by the local chapter of the Sunni Committee of Muslim Scholars, according to outgoing mayor Taha al-Handira.
The mayor had quit in protest against what he saw as restrictive and tough security measures imposed by US and Iraqi forces on the city.
Iraq recently renewed a state of emergency countrywide except for the Kurdistan region for 30 days.
Samarra was the scene of a massive US-led onslaught in October against the insurgents that left hundreds dead and many of the rebel leaders at large.
The situation has remained tense in the area which includes towns like Duluiyah and Balad with almost daily deadly attacks against Iraqi forces.
03/05/2005 11:31 GMT