KIRKUK, July 10: Five Iraqis, including two alleged members of a gang, were killed on Saturday in a spate of attacks, while insurgents again targeted a gas pipeline near the northern oil city of Kirkuk.

North of this main northern oil centre, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and translator for the multinational forces was stabbed to death.

The body of Hiwa Omar Said, 30, was found later near a bridge, said Iraqi police Captain Bastun Abdullah.

Three translators working for multinational troops have been killed in the last month.

Earlier, unknown assailants opened fire at the offices of the Union of Farming Cooperatives, killing a guard, said police Major Burhan Taib.-AFP