A roadside bomb destroyed a US tank in Baghdad today and killed two American soldiers, the US military said.
The blast, which wounded four other troops, came as insurgents stepped up attacks ahead of Iraqi elections due on January 30th.
The attack in southwest Baghdad raised to at least 1,067 the number of US troops killed since the start of the war that toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Roadside bombs are one of the leading killers of US troops in Iraq and are hidden in everything from soda cans to animal carcasses.
Meanwhile suicide attackers this evening targeted an Interior Ministry office and a police station in the southern city of Basra today, wounding five policemen, a spokesman said.
The first attack targeted the Interior Affairs Department, which supervises the work of police and intelligence, in central Basra at 10 pm (local time).
Three police were wounded, said police Lt Col Karim al-Zeydi said. He said the second attack occurred five minutes later and targeted a police station in the town of Abu al-Khaseeb, some 12 miles south of Basra. Two policemen were wounded in the second attack, he said. The attackers were both killed.
and AP