Iraqi authorities say at least 28 people, including six policemen, were killed in a powerful explosion in a Baghdad house overnight.
Officials say insurgents rigged the house with explosives, lured police to the building and then detonated the charge. They say an anonymous caller had tipped police that foreign militants were using the house as a base.
The explosion also flattened several nearby houses, and authorities fear a number of people might be trapped under the rubble.
Tuesday, at least 23 Iraqi police and national guards were killed in a series of insurgent attacks in the so-called Sunni Triangle region north of Baghdad ( -- in and near the towns of Tikrit, Samarra, Balad and Baquba).
Top U.S. military officials in Iraq say they expect an escalation of attacks and assassination attempts ahead of the January 30th elections.