Gunmen attacked women picking vegetables in a field outside the Iraqi capital, killing six adults and two young girls and kidnapping two teenagers.

An armed confrontation between two Iraqi army units left one soldier and one civilian dead, raising questions about the US-trained force’s ability to maintain control at a time when sectarian and ethnic tensions are running high.

VIOLENCE continued across Iraq yesterday on the eve of the anniversary of the US-led invasion.

Increased attacks by insurgents over the past two days have killed at least 44 Iraqis, including 12 labourers – five of them brothers – who were gunned down at a construction site.

Iraq's prime minister Iyad Allawi issued a strong warning to the country's neighbours to crack down on militants infiltrating from their territory, saying his country’s patience was wearing thin.

A MILITANT group said yesterday it had taken six more hostages - three Indians, two Kenyans and an Egyptian - and would behead them if their countries did not immediately announce the withdrawal of their citizens from Iraq.

A roadside bomb exploded early today, killing one US 1st Infantry Division soldier and injuring six others north of the Iraqi capital, a US military spokesman said.