Baghdad - Four people were killed Friday and eight Iraqi soldiers were injured in separate attacks in Iraq's Diyala and Kirkuk provinces, news reports said.

In the first incident, three civilians were killed when a helicopter opened fire on their car south-west of Kirkuk, the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency reported.

A spokesman for the US military in Iraq told VOI he had no information on the incident.

Kirkuk is a multi-ethnic province located some 250 kilometres north of Baghdad.

In another incident, an Iraqi soldier was killed and eight soldiers were wounded when a bomb struck their patrol in the south of the city of Baquba, a police source told VOI.

Baghdad, Aug. 22: American and Iraqi negotiators have agreed to the withdrawal of all U. S. combat forces from the country by the end of 2011.

According to the Washington Post, Iraqi officials also said they are "very close" to resolving the remaining issues blocking a final accord that governs the future American military presence here.

Iraqi and U. S. officials said several difficult issues remain, including whether U. S. troops will be subject to Iraqi law if accused of committing crimes.

"We have a text," Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said after a daylong visit Thursday by U. S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Baghdad  - At least 9 people were killed and 40 others wounded when a car bomb ripped through a bus station in the district of Balad in Saladdin province, a police source said on Saturday.

The victims were believed to have been heading to the holy city of Karbala to mark the al-Ziyara al-Shaabaniya or the mid of Shaaban visit pilgrimage on Sunday.

"An explosive vehicle in central Balad went off last night, killing nine civilians and injuring 40 others," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons, told Voices of Iraq (VOI).

Baghdad - A total ban on the movement of cars was imposed in Karbala Friday as part of a tight security control in the holy southern Iraqi city, days before the Sunday pilgrimage to commemorate the birth of the 12th Imam revered by Shiites.

"A total car ban is imposed on Karbala from today till the end of pilgrimage on Sunday. Security forces were deployed on all entrances of the city to ensure total security during the commemoration of the birth of Imam al-Mahdi," a spokesman of the security forces in Karbala told the independent Voices of Iraq news agency.

Baghdad - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani underwent an operation on his heart valve in the US, the Iraqi news agency Aswat al-Iraq reported late on Thursday, citing the president's office in Baghda

Baghdad - A blast targeting a police patrol in Iraq's restive Diyala province killed two policemen and injured six people, a security source said Thursday.

The bomb struck a police patrol in Baquba, the capital of Diyala, located some 60 kilometres north of Baghdad, an anonymous security source told Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency.

Diyala, which has witnessed a major military operation in recent weeks, has been a safe haven for anti-US insurgents, mainly the Islamic State of Iraq, also known as al-Qaeda in Iraq.