Insurgents killed at least 32 people in a series of attacks as Iraq's political leaders were set to meet yesterday to negotiate on issues holding up the completion of the constitution.

Seven Iraqi soldiers were killed and 17 wounded when a suicide bomber blew up a truck in front of an Iraqi army headquarters in central Tikrit, 180km north of Baghdad, an Iraqi army officer said.

Three other Iraqi soldiers were killed when gunmen attacked their patrol in south Baghdad, while two other people working in the oil ministry were also shot dead by gunmen in southeast Baghdad.

In Samawa, one civilian was killed and 44 wounded as demonstrators clashed with police during a protest about lack of jobs and public services in this dusty southern Shia town rife with unemployment, medical sources said.

Around 1,000 protestors gathered outside the local government headquarters in Samawa, 270 kilometres (170 miles) south-east of Baghdad. Violence erupted when the crowd started throwing stones at the building.

Two people were also killed in Baquba when a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol exploded in the town centre. Seven Iraqis were killed at Al-Sharqat, 300km north of Baghdad when their bus hit a roadside bomb at 11:00 am (0700 GMT) Sunday. The dead included three children.

Eleven others were also killed in a string of separate rebel attacks across Iraq.

Two US soldiers were also reported killed in a bomb explosion near Samarra, north of Baghdad, on Saturday, the US military announced Sunday, bringing the total US military personnel casualties since the March 2003 invasion to 1,820 according to an AFP tally based on Pentagon figures.