KIRKUK, Feb 2: Rebels killed 12 Iraqi soldiers near Kirkuk on Wednesday, said an Iraqi military commander. The 12 soldiers were travelling back from their jobs guarding oil pipelines when they were ambushed on the road between the villages of Azab and Zaraquiya, 85 kilometres west of Kirkuk, said General Anwar Amin.

It was the deadliest single attack since Iraq's national election on Sunday. calm broken: Eight Iraqis, including members of the local security services, were killed in the last 24 hours in attacks around conflict-riven areas north and south of Baghdad, security sources said.

Iraq has enjoyed a period of relative calm since Sunday's landmark elections despite threats by guerillas to continue their deadly campaign against the government and US-led forces.

One soldier was killed and another wounded when an Iraqi army patrol was the target of a bomb attack around dawn near Dhuluiya, about 70kms north of Baghdad, the army said.

Late on Tuesday, a bomb apparently intended for a passing US army patrol killed two civilians driving in a car at Dijla, about 30kms north of the capital, police said.

Militants also killed two policemen near Baquba, an interior ministry source said. In Iskandariyah, south of Baghdad, four civilians were injured in a gunfight between police and gunmen, the source said, adding that police in the town also caught a suspected "terrorist" leader.

South of Baghdad in Hilla, capital of Babil province, a police major and his driver were shot dead and one policeman was gunned down north of Baghdad in Tamiya, the source added. Police in Diyala also captured an Iranian who confessed he came to Iraq to fight the US army, the source said.

OIL PIPELINE: An oil pipeline linking two of Iraq's major refineries was attacked near the restive city of Samarra, north of Baghdad. The pipeline linking the Baiji refinery to the Dura refinery in the capital was hit by two bombs which exploded and caused a fire.