Insurgents step up attacks in Iraq

Seven Iraqi soldiers and a policeman were killed in seperate attacks in Iraq as rebel groups step up their campaign.

In Mosul, seven soldiers were ambushed and killed by gunmen as they left their base in a minibus. It is understood that two cars pulled up in front of the vehicle, blocking it's path. Four armed gunmen then jumped out and fired into the bus with automatic weapons killing seven soldiers and seriously wounding the driver.

Later in the day, on the outskirts of Mosul, a police officer was killed by a sticky-bomb which was attached to his personal car. He was off-duty at the time.