Security Summary: December 29, 2006

British army soldiers take-up defensive positions as two British army vehicles are seen destroyed following a surprise attack on Friday

BAGHDAD - Three U.S. marines died on Thursday from wounds suffered in combat in Iraq's western Anbar province, the U.S. military said.

BASRA - A British patrol was hit by a blast south of Basra and one British soldier was slightly wounded, Captain Olly Pile said.

KHALIS - A suicide bomber killed 10 people and wounded 11 near a Shi'ite mosque in the town of Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

RAMADI - The U.S. military said gunmen shot a policeman and a woman and wounded three others, including two children, when they attacked their home in Ramadi on Wednesday. A U.S. statement said Iraqi police later arrested 13 suspects.

BAGHDAD - U.S. forces killed two suspected insurgents and wounded two civilians in a raid on an al Qaeda target in Baghdad on Friday, the U.S. military said. A U.S. statement said its forces "regret the injuries the local nationals sustained".

JURF AL-SAKHAR - Gunmen attacked a police checkpoint in Jurf al-Sakhar, 85 km (53 miles) south of Baghdad, killing two and wounding seven, a police source said.

From Retuers/Alternet