Suspected militant killed in explosion

A suspected insurgent was killed today when a roadside bomb he was planting detonated prematurely north-east of Baghdad, the US military said.

The attempted attack against a 1st Infantry Division patrol took place south of Baqouba, 35 miles north-east of Baghdad, the military said without providing details.

Insurgents have frequently used improvised explosive devices to attack US and government troops in Iraq.

Also today, a police station in Maamoun district, west of Baghdad, was hit by a projectile, an Iraqi police official said. One policeman was killed and two others were injured, he said.

Meanwhile, the US military said Marines and Iraqi police were investigating the cause of a large explosion south of Baghdad yesterday which witnesses and local hospital sources said killed at least four people and injured about 50.

The blast, which occurred at about 6.30pm in Mahmudiyah, apparently involved a petrol tanker, the military said. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is operating alongside Iraqi security forces in the area, has received no reports of casualties.