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25 killed as Iraqi forces, militants clash

BAQUBA (Iraq): Iraqi security forces battled militants around Baquba on Friday despite a curfew as rebels launched massive attacks on checkpoints to seize control of the restive city.

Baquba police chief Ghassan Bawi said 25 rebels were killed since Thursday in clashes between the security forces and the militants, adding ``gunmen carried out attacks on checkpoints today [Friday] also.''

Another 43 militants were arrested, the military said.

Baquba, a mixed Sunni-Shia city 60 km northeast of Baghdad, has seen a surge in violence since December's national election as rebels exploited a protracted deadlock over the formation of the next government.

Diyala Governor Rad Rasheed al-Mulla imposed a curfew across the province, of which Baquba is the capital, following Thursday's brutal attacks on checkpoints that left 16 persons dead, including six Iraqi soldiers.

One U.S. soldier was killed when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement. — Agecies

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