Gunmen kill Iraqi soldier south of Baghdad

Jan 25, 2009, 16:20 GMT

Baghdad - Unknown gunmen killed one Iraqi soldier and wounded another in a firefight south of Baghdad, army sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa on Sunday.

The Iraqi soldiers arrested four gunmen in the clashes, sources said, without providing further details.

The clashes took place in Jarf al-Sakhr, near Hillah, the capital of the central Iraqi province of Babil.

Sunday's gun battle was the most recent in a string of attacks in the area as Iraq's January 31 provincial council elections draw near.

On Saturday, militants killed to members of al-Sahwa, or 'Awakening' Councils - former Sunni insurgents enticed to switch sides with money, guns, and temporary positions in the Interior Ministry - in Hillah. Two other Awakening Council members were injured in the battle.

Also on Saturday, an independent candidate running for the municipal elections in Iraq escaped an assassination attempt when unknown gunmen opened fire on his house at the centre of Hillah.

That assassination attempt came a week after gunmen killed Haitham al-Lihaibi, a candidate for the Babil provincial council from Prime Minister Nour al-Maliki's list.

Iraqi and international observers are watching the January 31 elections carefully, fearing that armed partisans of competing parties could take power struggles to the streets.