A wave of attacks in Iraq

Guerrillas attacked a U.S. patrol in Mosul on Saturday, killing two &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/war/2003/03/23/44879.html ' target=_blank>American soldiers and wounding four, the U.S. military said on Sunday.

Security in the northern Iraqi city has deteriorated sharply over the last month and guerrillas have fought several street battles with Iraqi security forces and U.S. troops, informs Reuters.

Insurgents plowed a car bomb into a bus carrying Kurdish militiamen in northern Iraq on Saturday, while Sunni and &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/accidents/2003/04/17/46006.html ' target=_blank>Shiite militias fought a pitched battle south of Baghdad. The day's violence, which killed dozens, underscored the continuing rise in ethnic and sectarian tensions as Iraq heads toward nationwide elections in January.

Across the country, other insurgent attacks claimed the lives of U.S. soldiers and allied Iraqi forces. Two American troops were killed in roadside bombings in the capital and near the central Iraqi city of Baquba.

In Baghdad, insurgents detonated two car bombs simultaneously at an Iraqi police station near the fortified headquarters of the &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/usa/2001/03/22/3103.html ' target=_blank>U.S. Embassy and the interim Iraqi government, killing at least three Iraqi police and wounding dozens of others, wrote San Francisco Chronicle.

According to the Melbourne Herald Sun, UN Iraq envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said yesterday the vote could only take place "if first and foremost security improves".