Insurgents killed at least 10 Iraqis Wednesday as politicians worked to agree on a draft constitution in time for Monday's deadline.
Iraqi police say a car bomb in western Baghdad killed six people. North of the capital, insurgents attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint, killing four soldiers near Beiji. The U.S. military says a roadside bomb killed four American soldiers near that town late Tuesday.
A fifth U.S. soldier was killed Tuesday by small arms fire near Habbaniyah.
Despite the violence, Iraqi political groups met after two days of formal talks among political leaders failed to resolve differences over several key constitutional issues.
The U.S. military announced that its joint anti-insurgent offensive with Iraqi forces in western Iraq, dubbed "Operation Quick Strike," ended Wednesday. The military said 36 suspected insurgents have been detained for questioning. Also nine car bombs and 28 other bombs were discovered during the operation.
The United States and Iraq's government hope a new democratic constitution will help put an end to the Sunni Arab-led insurgency, but many issues have yet to be agreed upon by Iraq's diverse religious and ethnic groups.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
