Iraq vows to block supplies to Kurdish rebels

Al-Qaida blamed for killings
Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi told The Associated Press that the remains, discovered in the Fadhl area of downtown Baghdad on Monday, were recovered and taken to the morgue on Tuesday.

Al-Moussawi blamed the killings on militants with al-Qaida in Iraq, who controlled the neighborhood until they were driven out about a month ago. The discovery was based on a tip, he said.

U.S. forces hunting for a senior al-Qaida militant leader accused in assassinations and car bomb attacks killed three suspected militants after surrounding a building in the northern city of Kirkuk, the military said.

The clash came around the same time as a failed assassination attempt on an investigative judge in the violence-plagued northern city. Police Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir said gunmen in a vehicle attacked Judge Zaher al-Bayati around 8:30 a.m. in the city's southern al-Wasiti neighborhood. Two bodyguards were killed, Qadir said, but al-Bayati, a Turkoman, was unharmed.

About 20 minutes later, there was a drive-by shooting attack on an intelligence officer as he was driving with his wife and daughter, the police chief said. The intelligence officer escaped injury, but his wife and 5-year-old daughter were both hurt.

Tensions are rising in Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, in advance of a proposed referendum on whether the oil-rich city will join the self-governing Kurdish region.

The military also announced that U.S. and Iraqi commandos had detained a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq leader and three other militants in Khadra, north of Baghdad, in a raid that left one U.S. soldier lightly wounded.

The main suspect was accused of leading four insurgent groups believed to be involved in attacks on Iraqi security forces and local civilians as well as an arson attack against Iraq's main pharmaceutical storage facility, according to the statement.

British Defense Secretary Des Browne said that his country's troops would hand over security in the southeastern province of Basra to Iraqi forces in mid-December.

Browne said the level of violence in the oil-rich province of was not acceptable but had reached a point where only the Iraqis could improve the situation.

The announcement of the drawdown came as Poland's incoming prime minister, Donald Tusk, suggested his country's troops will end their mission in Iraq next year, according to an interview published in a Polish newspaper.

More from msnbc.com Ice addict heads for poles, Everest | Trek posts Daily Nightly: Tim McGraw helps neighbors in need Were you paying attention? Take our weekly quiz World Blog: China puts foot down on 'Oba Mao' T-shirts Stimulus tracker: See where millions of dollars went Move over, feds — locals try stimulus, too  On Twitter: Breaking news updates | Weird and wild

MORE FROM MIDEAST & N. AFRICA

Mideast & N. Africa Section Front

Brothers who fled Yemen can stay in U.S. Federal case threatens mosques Palestinians urge cancellation of election Diplomats question role of Iran nuke plant Iraq prison head, staff detained after breakout Mideast & N. Africa Section Front   Add Mideast & N. Africa headlines to your news reader: