WAR: Gunmen assassinate three Shiite candidates in Iraq, page 1

Three Shiite candidates in Iraq were killed when gunmen attacked them today. In addition a suicide bomber killed two more at the offices of a leading Shiite political party. Two of those killed belong to interim Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi's political coalition.

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Gunmen shot and killed three candidates running in Iraq's Jan. 30 elections, officials said Tuesday, as a suicide bombing killed two people outside the offices of a leading Shiite political party.

With insurgents trying to ruin the election, officials announced that Iraq will seal its borders, extend a curfew and restrict movement to protect voters during the balloting. President Bush spoke Tuesday morning with Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, the latest in a series of conversations between the two leaders on Iraq's efforts to ensure maximum participation in the election.

Two of the slain candidates belonged to Allawi's political coalition, the Iraqi National Accord, a member of the group said.

Alaa Hamid, who was running for the 275-member National Assembly, was shot dead Monday in the southern port city of Basra in front of his family, the official said on condition of anonymity. Hamid was also the deputy chairman of the Iraqi Olympic Committee in Basra.

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It seems that the U.S. should start clamping down and restricting traffic now rather than wait for the day before the election. this is only going to get worst, and perhaps it is time to take off the gloves as it were and launch another operation to force the insurgents out of the cities and into he countryside.