Three Iraqis and two American soldiers were killed in overnight attacks in Iraq as US-appointed Governing Council prepares for this week's fund-raising conference in Madrid.
The latest attacks highlighted what the US-appointed Governing Council called Iraq's "dangerous security situation" ahead of this week's fund-raising conference where donors will be asked to contribute to reconstruction costs estimated at $55 billion.
The US military said a patrol came under small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire late yesterday near the northern oil city of Kirkuk. Two 4th Infantry Division soldiers were killed and one was wounded.
The deaths brought to 103 the number of US soldiers killed in hostile fire in Iraq since President George W. Bush declared major combat over on May 1.
US troops killed three Iraqis who had attacked their convoy in Hawija, south of Kirkuk, the military said. There were no further details.
In Baquba, north of Baghdad, one Iraqi was killed and 19 were wounded when a roadside bomb planted to hit US. forces exploded as Iraqi police were evacuating the area.
US-led forces in Iraq face a score of attacks or more a day, which they blame on diehard supporters of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein and foreign Islamic militants.
The military reported 30 attacks on Saturday alone. The guerrillas are most active in a "Sunni triangle" north and west of Baghdad, home to Saddam's tribal network.
Iraq's 25-member Governing Council, in a special statement announcing the establishment of a security committee, said no group would remain above the law.
It said recent "bloody developments and lawlessness" in the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala were among outbreaks of unrest that had prompted the council to form the committee.
Kerbala has been tense since three US military police and two Iraqi police died on Thursday in a clash in the city.
US forces blamed the violence on supporters of a local cleric who is a sympathiser of radical Shi'ite leader Moqtada al-Sadr, a vocal opponent of the US-led occupation.
Iraq's Shi'ite majority was repressed in Saddam's era. Moderate Shi'ite leaders have advocated cautious cooperation with Iraq's occupying forces in the hope of securing power in a future government.