Gunmen in Iraq kidnapped a Catholic archbishop Monday and insurgents hit security forces in a series of attacks that killed at least 20 people.
The Vatican called the kidnapping of the Syrian Catholic Church's Mosul archbishop, Basile Georges Casmoussa, a terrorist act.
Meanwhile, an attack on a checkpoint near Baquba killed seven Iraqi guardsmen and a civilian. Terrorists loyal to al-Qaida-linked Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility. Later, a car bomb outside a police station in Baiji killed at least seven Iraqi officers. Insurgents also attacked police in Sharqat and Dour, killing one officer in each city.
Near Fallujah, two U.S. soldiers were killed in action. No other details were released.
And in Basra, gunmen killed a security guard at a polling place for January 30th's elections. U.S. forces have detained 91 suspected insurgents since Saturday as they step up security for the vote.
