19 Iraqi soldiers killed in insurgent attack

Some 19 Iraqi soldiers were killed and several others wounded in a bomb attack and following clash with insurgents north of Baghdad on Saturday, police sources said.

Earlier, a police source put the death toll to 10. But other police sources said later that at least 19 soldiers were killed in the attack.

According to the sources, the incident took place in Adhaim, about 100 km north of Baghdad, when a roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi military patrol.

The roadside bomb exploded next to an army patrol which was then attacked by insurgents just north of the troubled city of Baquba, they said.

Meanwhile, four Iraqi soldiers, five civilians and an insurgent were wounded in the ambush, which also destroyed five army vehicles, added the sources.

Later in the day, another roadside bomb also attacked a police patrol in south of Baghdad, injuring three policemen seriously, a source from the Interior Ministry told Xinhua.

"The explosion occurred at around 7:50 p.m. (1650 GMT). One police car was destroyed and several houses were damaged by the blast," the source said.

Iraqi police and army have been frequently attacked by insurgents in a bid to topple the government under the US occupation.

The bloody incidents Saturday came shortly after the US military announced that 14 US soldiers were killed in Iraq during the past two days.

Source: Xinhua