Gun and Bomb attacks rock Iraq - at least 11 dead

A wave of gun and bomb attacks have rocked Iraq over the past three days.

Since the new year two US soldiers, three Iraqi civilians, four Iraqi police and two Iraqi soldiers have been killed and over 100 others wounded.

Yesterday morning a suicide carbomb exploded outside a police intelligence office in Baquba, killing one man and wounding 15 others.

Insurgents also targeted Christian churches in the Iraqi capital, leaving two dead and over 40 wounded in seperate gun and bomb attacks.

In Taifiya a police officer was shot dead by an insurgent unit which used silenced weapons. A string of similar attacks also left three police officers and two members of the Iraqi army dead. One of those killed was a senior Colonel in the police.

Two US soldiers were also killed in central Iraq yesterday. The US Military refused to release any details about the incident or the identities of the two troops. These are the first US casualties of 2011.

There are currently 50,000 US troops still in Iraq although an agreement between Washington and Baghdad requires that they be withdrawn before the end of the year.