Iraq elections may be spread over three weeks

Guerrillas carried out a series of raids in the Iraqi city of Samarra yesterday, stealing weapons from a police station, blowing it up, and exchanging fire with police and US troops. At least five Iraqis were killed, and the city police chief resigned.

Underscoring security concerns, the Interior Ministry backed interim Prime Ministry Ayad Allawi’s reported proposal to spread elections planned for January 30 over up to three weeks in hopes of allowing people to vote safely.