by Jay DeshmukhSat Mar 17, 6:41 AM ET
Two separate bomb blasts killed two policemen and wounded four others in Iraq on Saturday, as the United Nations urged the world to help rebuild the country's war-shattered economy.
US forces have meanwhile detained 18 suspected militants in a series of raids targeting Al-Qaeda networks in Iraq.
A policeman from a special task force was killed and four wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in the mainly Shiite provincial capital of Hilla, south of Baghdad, police Lieutenant Kadhim al-Aaraji said.
A civilian was also wounded.
Aaraji said the bombers targeted Brigadier General Abbas al-Juburi, commander of the task force, as his convoy was passing in Hilla's southern district of Ndir. The brigadier escaped the attack.
A similar blast targeting another police patrol in the main northern city of Mosul killed one policeman and wounded another, said police chief Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf al-Juburi.
Insurgents have carried out sustained attacks on Iraq's fledgling police force in an attempt to undermine the country's embattled US-backed government.
Even as violence continued, the United Nations heard calls for rebuilding the economy, at a conference of the International Compact with Iraq (ICI), a joint initiative of the United Nations and the World Bank.
In the closed-door meeting of representatives from about 90 countries, UN chief Ban Ki-moon assured Iraqi officials of steady help from the world body.
"The United Nations will make every effort to ensure that the international community remains engaged in this process," he said.
"The challenges ahead are immense. I am sure you will agree that we cannot leave Iraq on its own to cope with them.
"We are all aware of the difficult situation in Iraq ... Beyond the political violence and sectarian strife, a humanitarian crisis is stretching the patience and ability of ordinary people to cope," Ban said.
Military officials warn that violence is rising in areas outside Baghdad following a massive security crackdown in the capital, where 90,000 US and Iraqi troops are deployed to rein in the sectarian bloodshed.
The US military commander in neighbouring Diyala province, Colonel David W. Sutherland, said on Friday that indirect fire attacks against his troops rose to 98 in February 2007 from 28 in July, direct fire attacks jumped to 153 from 90, but that sectarian attacks fell significantly.
"In July, 124 murders were reported and in February, 16 murders were reported. Sectarian violence has fallen by 70 percent," he said.
US and Iraqi commanders claim that violence has slumped in Baghdad since the crackdown began on February 14 although they acknowledge that car bombs and suicide bombers remain a scourge.
After more than a month of silence, around 2,000 Shiites in Sadr City, mostly followers of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, took to the streets on Friday to protest the setting up of a US security outpost in their east Baghdad bastion.
The protests came a day after one of Sadr City's two mayors was shot and wounded by unidentified gunmen after having negotiated with the Americans and welcomed the creation of the fortified base. A policeman travelling with him was killed.
US and Iraqi forces have been setting up joint security stations across Baghdad as part of the new plan to curb the violence. This includes Sadr City, where US troops fought bitter street battles with Sadr's black clad militias in 2004.
Since the crackdown began the militia fighters have melted away offering no resistance, but after the attack on Mayor Rahim al-Darraji, tension has begun to rise.
Of the Al-Qaeda suspects rounded up on Saturday, 12 were detained southeast of Balad in northern Iraq and six were arrested in the former rebel bastion of Fallujah in the western province of Anbar, the US military said.