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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A roadside bomb killed three Iraqi soldiers in northeast Iraq on Saturday, and seven people were wounded during attacks by insurgents near five of Baghdad's 1,200 polling stations, police said.
Insurgents also attacked a U.S. military patrol in central Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, and fired six mortar rounds at a sports hall being used as a polling center, said police 1st Lt. Mohammed Al-Obaidi. No injuries were immediately reported.
The roadside bomb exploded early Saturday near an Iraqi army and police convoy in an area about 80 miles northeast of Baghdad, killing three soldiers and wounding three, an officer said. The convoy was on a patrol unrelated to the constitutional referendum Iraqis were voting on Saturday, the officer said on condition of anonymity as a security precaution in the volatile area.
The attacks in Baghdad occurred near five different polling stations.
As voting began nationwide at 7 a.m., a roadside bomb exploded in western Baghdad near a school that had just opened its doors, wounding two policemen, said police Lt. Mohammed Kheyon. No voters had shown up yet, he said.
At 8:30 a.m., a small rocket exploded near a voting center in northern Baghdad, slightly wounding one civilian, said police Lt. Thaer Mahmoud.
A mortar round fell near a Baghdad polling station at 9 a.m., but it did not explode, said police Maj. Falah al-Mhamadawi.
Later, insurgents opened fire on a polling center in western Baghdad, and police fired back at random, accidentally wounding three civilians who were walking toward the school, said police Capt. Talib Thamir. He said the shooting was being investigated.
At about midday, militants shot and wounded a voter walking home from a voting station in western Baghdad, said Thamir.
In Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, U.S. troops found and defused a bomb hidden in front of a gas station near a polling center, said police Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qader.
In the southern city of Basra, three armed men attacked an empty polling station at 3 a.m. and were arrested, said police Capt. Mushtaq Kadim.
Sunni-led insurgents had vowed to wreck Saturday's referendum at about 6,000 polling stations across Iraq. In the 19 days before the voting, nearly 450 people were killed by insurgents using suicide car bombs, roadside bombs and drive-by shootings.
10/15/05 06:44
© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Insurgents also attacked a U.S. military patrol in central Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, and fired six mortar rounds at a sports hall being used as a polling center, said police 1st Lt. Mohammed Al-Obaidi. No injuries were immediately reported.
The roadside bomb exploded early Saturday near an Iraqi army and police convoy in an area about 80 miles northeast of Baghdad, killing three soldiers and wounding three, an officer said. The convoy was on a patrol unrelated to the constitutional referendum Iraqis were voting on Saturday, the officer said on condition of anonymity as a security precaution in the volatile area.
The attacks in Baghdad occurred near five different polling stations.
As voting began nationwide at 7 a.m., a roadside bomb exploded in western Baghdad near a school that had just opened its doors, wounding two policemen, said police Lt. Mohammed Kheyon. No voters had shown up yet, he said.
At 8:30 a.m., a small rocket exploded near a voting center in northern Baghdad, slightly wounding one civilian, said police Lt. Thaer Mahmoud.
A mortar round fell near a Baghdad polling station at 9 a.m., but it did not explode, said police Maj. Falah al-Mhamadawi.
Later, insurgents opened fire on a polling center in western Baghdad, and police fired back at random, accidentally wounding three civilians who were walking toward the school, said police Capt. Talib Thamir. He said the shooting was being investigated.
At about midday, militants shot and wounded a voter walking home from a voting station in western Baghdad, said Thamir.
In Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, U.S. troops found and defused a bomb hidden in front of a gas station near a polling center, said police Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qader.
In the southern city of Basra, three armed men attacked an empty polling station at 3 a.m. and were arrested, said police Capt. Mushtaq Kadim.
Sunni-led insurgents had vowed to wreck Saturday's referendum at about 6,000 polling stations across Iraq. In the 19 days before the voting, nearly 450 people were killed by insurgents using suicide car bombs, roadside bombs and drive-by shootings.
10/15/05 06:44
© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
