Eight Iraqis were killed and another 7 injured when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near the protective barrier of a joint coordination center in the northern Iraqi town of Khaniqeen on Saturday, the U.S. Military in a division Command in Tikrit said. The military said that three Iraqi soldiers were among those killed in the incident in this border city with Iran. Insurgents have intensified their attacks on government and elections centers one day ahead of the country's first free election for ages. Two pilots of a U.S. intelligence helicopter were killed Friday evening in a crash near Baghdad, the U.S. military command confirmed Saturday morning. The U.S. military said it was unclear what caused the crash of the Kiowa OH-58. On Wednesday, a U.S. transport helicopter crashed in western Iraq killing 31 soldiers. Also on Friday, five U.S. soldiers perished in separate clashes. Three soldiers were killed and another injured when a bomb exploded near their patrol. Earlier Friday a U.S. soldier was killed in another bomb attack and another was shot dead by an insurgent.
