Double insurgent attacks leave 30 dead

INSURGENTS launched two major attacks yesterday against a Shi’ite mosque and a police station in Baghdad, killing 30 people, including at least 16 police officers, the deadliest insurgent violence in weeks.

In the north, US and Iraqi troops battled gunmen in Mosul, leaving at least 11 guerrillas and a policeman dead, Iraqi commanders said. The fighting in Iraq's third-largest city a centre of violence since a major uprising last month came a day after a US soldier was killed in the city.

Also yesterday, an American soldier was killed and two were wounded when a roadside bomb hit their patrol near the northern city of Kirkuk.