In the deadliest attack, a suicide car bomb in the town of Garma, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of the capital, killed three policemen including a lieutenant colonel, according to Lieutenant Colonel Hatif al-Dulaimi.

The blast, which targeted a police checkpoint in the town, in mainly Sunni Anbar province, occurred at about 1:00 pm (1000 GMT) and wounded six others, including three policemen.

Also on Sunday, Laith Mohaned, an employee of Iraq's anti-corruption watchdog, was shot dead by unidentified attackers along the airport road, an interior ministry official said.

The road, referred to as Route Irish by US forces, was long one of the most dangerous in the country, and was persistently the site of attacks by Sunni militants.

Separately, assassins killed two Iraqi security officers in the centre of the capital, the interior ministry official said.

One of them was an Iraqi army colonel shot dead in Karrada commercial district by two men using silenced pistols at about 9:00 pm (1800 GMT). Police detained the pair, the official said.

The other was police Captain Haidar Mazhar, killed near the city's Zawraa park by men who also used silenced pistols.

The official added a roadside bomb at a petrol station at Saadun Street in central Baghdad on Sunday morning wounded five people, while two bomb attacks in eastern and western districts of the capital injured six others.

Two mortar rounds were also fired into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which is home to several foreign embassies and government buildings. No casualties were immediately reported.

And in the central Iraqi city of Baquba, northeast of the capital in restive Diyala province, a magnetic "sticky bomb" attached to a car killed one person and wounded five others, the provincial security command said.

Violence appears to have risen again across Iraq in recent months, with July and August recording two of the highest monthly death tolls since 2008, according to government figures.

earlier related report
Iraq inaugurates patrol boat in bid to build up navy
Umm Qasr, Iraq (AFP) Sept 26, 2010 - Iraq inaugurated the first in a fleet of new US-built patrol boats on Sunday, part of efforts to boost its naval capacity and secure key oil platforms ahead of an American pullout next year.

The rapid build-up of the Iraqi navy is seen as crucial to protecting the terminals through which the vast majority of the country's crude is exported, with oil accounting for around 95 percent of government income.

In a ceremony at Umm Qasr Naval Base, around 500 kilometres (310 miles) south of Baghdad, sailors demonstrated the capabilities of the boat -- named "PB 301" -- by showing it chase down smaller vessels.

A six-piece military band played as the boat was unveiled at a ceremony attended by Defence Minister Abdul Qader Obeidi and Lieutenant General Michael Barbero, the top US commander responsible for training Iraq's security forces.

"I am proud to be among the first to witness the historical arrival and commissioning of Iraq's first patrol boat," said Vice Admiral Kevin McCoy, the commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command, which is primarily tasked with building and supporting the US Navy's fleet.

"This occasion reflects the important ties that bound our governments and our commitment to supporting a strong coalition partnership that is based on mutual respect and cooperation."

Also as part of the ceremony, Iraqi navy Seals showed off "stop and search" skills aboard a demonstration vessel, and 177 naval cadets graduated from officer training to become lieutenants.

Crews for the new high-speed patrol boats are currently being trained in the United States, with 15 ultimately set to be delivered to Iraq.

Three are set to arrive in December, with the remaining 11 due for delivery next year.

The Iraqi navy, re-established two years after the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted dictator Saddam Hussein, now has 47 vessels, according to a US army spokeswoman.

It currently handles on-site and perimeter defence for the Khor al-Amiya oil terminal, and on-site defence for the Al-Basra oil terminal, which are 10 kilometres apart and 100 kilometres off the port of Umm Qasr, sandwiched between Iranian and Kuwaiti waters.

Some 80 percent of Iraq's oil exports pass through the two terminals, with three more set to be added by the end of next year as the country seeks to ramp up oil exports by as much as five times.

By that time, when US forces will have had to withdraw completely from the country under the terms of a bilateral security pact, Iraq will be solely responsible for all security at oil facilities, including platforms.

US officers are confident their Iraqi comrades are up to the task.

"The Iraqi navy will be fully capable to defend the oil platforms, the territorial waters and the ports," Barbero told AFP in an interview this month.

The old Iraqi navy was destroyed in the 1991 Gulf War and again in the 2003 invasion.

The United States pulled out combat troops from Iraq at the start of this month, and will complete a full withdrawal at the end of next year.

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