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But in a clear sign militants plan to continue their attacks, 12 Iraqi troops were killed in an ambush in northern Iraq and a U.S. marine died in combat in a western province.
global
An Iraqi military commander said the soldiers were travelling from their jobs guarding oil pipelines when they were attacked on Wednesday between the villages of Azab and Zaraqiya, 85km west of Kirkuk.
Kirkuk's deputy mayor Ismail al-Hadidi said funerals would be held on Thursday for the men "who were protecting Iraq's riches from the terrorists".
The deadliest single attack since Sunday's election, the ambush served as grim reminder to Iraq's fragile security situation.
The attacks come as the influential Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) said Sunday's elections lacked legitimacy and that the national assembly and the interim government stemming out of it would lack legitimacy too.
In a statement broadcast on Aljazeera, the AMS cautioned the UN and the international community not to lose sight of the pitfalls of "legitimising such an election".
"This will open the door of evil and those legitimising the elections would be responsible," the statement said.