Insurgents launch new attacks aheade of referendum

Insurgents in Iraq launched a new salvo of attacks five days ahead of the country’s crucial constitutional referendum, killing at least 18 Iraqis and a US soldier with suicide car bombs, roadside bombs and drive-by shootings today, police said.

Five mortar shells also were fired at a hotel in the southern city of Hillah where a US regional embassy office is based, with one round hitting the building and leaving a large hole in a wall, police said. No casualties were reported.