17 Iraqi soldiers die in attacks

BAQUBA, Iraq, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Violence in Iraq Saturday claimed the lives of 17 Iraqi soldiers as they traveled in a convoy near Baquba.

The convoy was struck by a roadside bomb and then fired on by militants in the Adhaim region, north of Baghdad Saturday. Two soldiers were also injured.

The soldiers were part of a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol. The attack -- carried out by insurgents -- was apparently well planned, Iraqi Army Maj. Anwar Kadhim Jafari told the Washington Post.

After the roadside bomb was detonated, the Iraqis got out of their vehicles to search the area and gunmen opened fire on them. After the attack, the insurgents set fire to four Iraqi Army vehicles and commandeered two others, Jafari said.

Ten U.S. Marines were killed by a roadside bombing outside Fallujah, west of Baghdad, on Thursday.