Bombings Kill 18 in Iraq’s North

Insurgents continued their violent campaign against Iraq’s security forces Tuesday, killing 18 people in a series of car bombings in the north and several others in attacks elsewhere. At least 53 people were wounded.

The U.S. military announced that four more Americans had been killed in action, bringing to at least 1,679 the number of troops who have died since the war began in March 2003.

A Marine was killed Monday when a roadside bomb exploded next to his vehicle near Fallouja, and a soldier was killed Tuesday when a roadside bomb hit his patrol north of Baghdad. Two soldiers were killed Tuesday in what the military called an “indirect fire attack” on a coalition base in Tikrit. No names were released.

Insurgent attacks have left more than 830 Iraqis dead since the government was formed in April. Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari has promised to restore security, and the government recently deployed 40,000 Iraqi police and soldiers to conduct sweeps in Baghdad. More than 900 suspects have been arrested.

Although major attacks in the capital have diminished, daily violence outside Baghdad has continued.

Most of Tuesday’s casualties occurred in the northern city of Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk. A series of car bombings struck police and army checkpoints in the area, killing 18 people.

Civilians bore the brunt of the explosions, which ripped through vehicles that were in line for inspection. In Hawija’s Dibis district, one of the blasts destroyed three cars, killing or wounding all of the occupants.

Relatives rushed to Kirkuk’s main hospital. A middle-aged man deliriously pleaded with passersby: “Watch out, don’t step in my son’s blood on the ground. Mohammed is getting ready to be married and his bride is waiting for him.” His son died.

“This is the most terrible day of my life,” another father said. “One of my sons was killed and my little sweet daughter was critically injured.”

Despite the security crackdown in Baghdad, insurgents blew up a parked car near a police convoy in the Shula district, injuring 28.

Elsewhere in the capital, gunmen killed an Iraqi police commando in civilian clothes. Also, two cars of attackers injured Imadeddin Abdel Fattah, the head of a state-run contracting and housing firm, and killed his driver.

Just west of Baghdad, near Abu Ghraib, the body of an Iraqi police officer was found.

Despite the continuing attacks in the capital, an advisor to President Jalal Talabani said the crackdown there was working. “The security of Baghdad is the key to the security of the country,” Sadiq Moussawi said.

A special correspondent in Kirkuk contributed to this report.