Wednesday, June 8 2005 11:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Hawijah (Iraq): At least 30 Iraqis were cut down yesterday (Jun 7, 2005) by violence across Iraq that defied Government and US efforts to stem a dogged insurgency.

Fourteen Iraqis were killed, half of them soldiers, in three early morning car bomb attacks around the northern town of Hawijah in the latest major attack on Iraq's security forces.

The explosions occurred as officials hailed gains from Operation Lightning, a more than two-week-old sweep of the capital, but warned against complacency, saying the insurgency's demise would be a "slow death".

The three suicide bombers struck almost simultaneously, targeting Army checkpoints on the northern, western and eastern entrances of the restive Sunni Arab town, 210 kilometres from Baghdad, police said.

The latest casualty toll from the attacks reported 14 deaths and 20 wounded said Dr Jasim Hamad, director of Hawijah's general hospital. Among the dead were 7 soldiers, 3 children and a woman.

US forces sealed off what quickly became a virtual ghost town with Apache attack helicopters circling overhead, a correspondent reported.

9 people were killed in the northern city of Mosul, including four Peshmerga militiamen reportedly shot dead by police after they were mistaken for insurgents and three students killed when unknown gunmen burst into their apartment.