Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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January 30, 2009

Bomb Kills 3 Iraqi Policemen a Day Before Provincial Elections
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=21F33C7:A6F02AD83191E1608B77BCC850C4E1DE70AD7039DCD7B7E4&
 
Officials say police officers found bomb in Diwaniyah, central Iraq,
brought it to police station to try to defuse it but bomb exploded,
killing them 
Iraqi soldiers secure streets day before provincial council elections in
western city of Ramadi, 30 Jan 2009Iraqi officials say a bomb blast has
killed three policemen in central
Iraq a day before the country holds its first provincial elections
since 2005.Officials say police officers found the bomb Friday
in the town of Diwaniyah and brought it to a police station to try to
defuse it. The bomb then exploded, killing three police officers and
wounding at least 14 others. Iraqi officials have warned that
insurgents may try to disrupt Saturday's elections. Three candidates
were killed Thursday in separate shootings across Iraq. Despite the
attacks, the run-up to the Iraqi vote has been relatively calm. Iraq
plans to tighten security nationwide starting at 10:00 p.m. local time
tonight (1900 UTC/1400 EST) to try to prevent more violence. Measures
include a night-time curfew, the closure of Iraq's borders and
airports, and the closure of entry and exit points to Iraq's provinces.
Restrictions are already in place in the volatile northern city of
Mosul. On
Saturday, Iraqi authorities plan to ban road traffic in major cities
and near polling centers, with exceptions for specially-authorized
vehicles. Fifteen million Iraqis are eligible to vote in
elections for 14 of Iraq's 18 provincial councils. About
14,400 candidates are vying for 440 seats. A first day of
early voting for Iraqi security personnel and prisoners on Wednesday
went smoothly.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.


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