Iraq: Factbox - Security developments in Iraq, 25 Dec 2006

*BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb exploded near a U.S. patrol in southern Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding two, the U.S. military said in a statement.

*ANBAR - Two U.S. soldiers were killed in action in Iraq's western Anbar province on Sunday, the U.S. military said in a statement.

BAGHDAD - A car bomb killed at least 10 people and wounded 15 when it exploded on a busy commercial street in the mainly Shi'ite New Baghdad district of the Iraqi capital, police said.

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber killed three people and wounded 20 others when he blew himself up aboard a crowded bus in the Shi'ite Talibiya district in northeastern Baghdad, Interior Ministry sources said.

RAMADI - A suicide bomber targeting a police checkpoint near the main entrance of Anbar University killed three policemen and wounded two students in the city of Ramadi, 110 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad, police Lieutenant Kareem al-Rishawi said.

The U.S. military said one student and one police man were killed, and five police wounded. The bomber was also killed. A U.S. statement said the reports of three policemen dead were a deliberate inflation of the casualties in an effort to intimidate the police and dissuade people from enlisting.

BASRA - British forces seized a major police station in the city of Basra suspected of militia activity and transferred prisoners to another station before planting explosives and destroying the building.

MAHAWEEL - Gunmen killed a police lieutenant colonel and wounded three other policemen in a drive-by shooting in the town of Mahaweel, 75 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad, police said. An Interior Ministry source said two of the policemen with the officer also died in the attack.

MUSSAYAB - Gunmen killed one civilian after they stormed his house on Sunday night in Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

JURF AL-SAKHAR - Gunmen wounded three policemen when they attacked a police checkpoint on Sunday in Jurf al-Sakhar, about 85 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

HAWIJA - Gunmen killed two Shi'ite brothers on Sunday in the town of Hawija, 190 km (120 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - U.S. forces killed three insurgents on Sunday in northern Baghdad during a raid targeting foreign fighters and local insurgents who were building car bombs in the area.

BAGHDAD - A total of 29 bodies were found shot dead, with most showing signs of torture, in different districts of Baghdad on Sunday, an Interior Ministry source said.

RUMAITHA - Clashes between security forces and militiamen loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr killed six people and seriously wounded one on Sunday in the southern Iraqi town of Rumaitha, 25 km (16 miles) north of Samawa, police said. Three days of clashes have killed at least eight people in Samawa.

MOSUL - A total of seven bodies, including three policemen, were found in different districts of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, a hospital source said.