KABUL (Reuters) – Three policemen were killed by a land mine planted by Taliban insurgents in a police post in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, a police official said.

SAMARRA, Iraq (Reuters) – At a checkpoint consisting of a wooden shack wrapped in steel sheets, five young Iraqis with AK-47 rifles have the task of stopping al Qaeda bombers striking the ancient city of Samarra.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s parliament passed a provincial elections law on Wednesday after months of arguing between Arabs and Kurds, and called for the vote to be held before January 31 next year, legislators said.