Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Sunni rebel group, al-Qaeda in Iraq, claimed responsibility for the attacks. The claim, which appeared on an Islamic Web site, could not immediately be verified.

"The destructive effect that such operations has on the morale of the enemy inside and on its countries and people abroad is clear," the claim said.

The attacks occurred in the western Amil district and in the Sunni Muslim stronghold of Azamiyah, where police said a car bomb exploded during a clash between Iraqi government security forces and armed rebels near a Shia mosque called Hameed al-Najar. Witnesses said the mosque suffered some damage, including shattered windows.

Fourteen people were killed and 19 others were wounded, according to the Numan hospital. Azamiyah was a major center of support for Saddam Hussein.

Initial reports had suggested that the bomb targeted a nearby police station. However, if the mosque was in fact the target, it could have been a bid by the Sunnis to stoke civil strife in the area.

In the Amil attack, gunmen stormed a police station near the dangerous road to Baghdad International Airport, killing 16 policemen, looting weapons, releasing detainees and torching several cars, Police Capt. Mohammed al-Jumeili said. He said several policemen were wounded.

US military spokesman Lt. Col. Jim Hutton said the battle began when gunmen in 11 cars attacked the station with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. He said a US military Humvee was also damaged. There were no American casualties.

Detainees being held at the station were also hurt, al-Jumeili said. There was no word on the insurgents' casualties.

The rebels had first shelled the station with mortars. Thick black smoke rose from the burning vehicles after the attack.

Meanwhile, two city councilmen from Khalis were ambushed and killed by gunmen Friday, officials said.

The two were driving from Khalis, 50 miles north of Baghdad, to Baqouba, the capital of Diala province, to attend the regional meeting on the country's Jan. 30 elections, said deputy governor Ghassan al-Khadran. He said a third councilman was injured in the attack.

The claim from al-Zarqawi's group said 30 people were killed in the Amil attack and only two escaped. The group also claimed to have attacked two police patrols in the western Baghdad area of Nafq al-Shorta, killing everyone, but that could not be verified.

The attacks were the latest against Iraq's police and security services, which have been targeted throughout central, western and northern Iraq in recent weeks.

The US Embassy on Thursday barred employees from the dangerous highway.

Also Thursday, insurgents killed an American soldier in the restive city of Mosul, and mortar strikes pummeled central Baghdad. Despite the violence, a top Iraqi official insisted the security situation had improved since US forces scattered insurgents in the Sunni Muslim city of Fallujah last month.

Lt. Col. Paul Hastings said Iraqi and US forces discovered 14 unidentified bodies in Mosul on Thursday. He said there were also reports of five more bodies picked up by family members. That brings to at least 66 the number of bodies many of them believed members of the Iraqi security forces found there since Nov. 18.

Mosul's police force disintegrated during an insurgent uprising last month, forcing the US command to divert troops from the offensive in Fallujah.

In Mosul six people were killed in attacks yesterday on the Niniveh provincial government headquarters in Mosul and on a US patrol, hospital sources in the northern Iraqi city said.

Five people died and another 17 were wounded when mortar rounds, followed by automatic arms fire targeted the provincial offices.

Separately, a patrol in the Yarmuk district of the city was attacked by unknown elements. None of the US troops was hurt, but Iraqi Aref Khodr Mohammed said he was wounded and his father killed after they were caught in the their car by the gunfire.

A US soldier was killed and two others wounded on Friday when their convoy was attacked near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, the US military said.

Insurgents ambushed a routine US patrol at 9:50 am (0650 GMT) near the city, the military said.

In Baquba at least eight people were killed in violence across Iraq on Thursday, including a regional criminal investigations chief and two other police officers in an ambush north of Baghdad, security sources said.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Ismail was killed around midday (0900 GMT) along with two of his guards as they were driving in the centre of Baladruz," east of Baquba, the capital of Diyala province, said a national guard officer.

The attackers escaped, said the officer, who requested anonymity.

In Baquba itself, two Khalas town council members were killed in a gun attack while a national guard captain died in a car bomb attack in the same area.