Iraqi police say a suicide car bomber attacked a security checkpoint in central Baghdad today (Monday), killing at least two people and wounding five others, mostly policemen. The attack took place near a gate into the Iraqi capital's heavily fortified Green Zone, where most U.S. and Iraqi government offices are located.
Separately, the U.S. military said two American airmen were killed and another wounded in a roadside bomb blast on Sunday near an airbase (Taji) north of Baghdad.
In another development, the trial of ousted leader Saddam Hussein is scheduled to resume Tuesday, but it is not yet clear who will preside in court.
Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has called a meeting of top military and political officials to discuss the possibility that the radical Hamas movement may make strong gains in upcoming Palestinian elections.
Hamas, whose military wing has claimed scores of attacks against Israel, has called for the destruction of the Jewish state. Surveys ahead of Wednesday's polls show a Hamas slate almost even with Fatah candidates.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is in Washington for talks with officials at a time of rising tensions between the two allies.
Aziz is scheduled to meet today (Monday) with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, then with President Bush Tuesday.
The prime minister is defending his government's efforts to gain control over remote tribal regions near the Afghan border.
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