Insurgents also killed six people, including a US soldier, across the country and also attacked the governor of the restive western province of Al-Anbar who escaped unhurt.

In a pre-dawn operation near the northern town of Balad, a team of US assault troops shot dead 10 "terrorists", the US military said.

"Coalition forces killed 10 terrorists, three of them wearing suicide vests, and wounded one at approximately 1:30 am (2130 GMT Monday) at a safe house" located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Balad, the military said.

It said the incident took place as the forces were "searching for an Al-Qaeda terrorist leader", but did not specify if he was among those killed.

The military said one of the suspects, a guard outside the safe house, was shot by the assault troops, but as "he fell backward he reached toward his chest and detonated a suicide vest".

"The troops killed nine other terrorists, seven of whom exited the safe house during the fight and two who were inside," the military said.

There were no casualties among the assault troops.

Insurgents on Tuesday carried out a car-bomb attack targeting the governor of Anbar province, Maamun Sami Rashid.

Rashid escaped the attack in the provincial capital of Ramadi, a source in the coalition forces said.

Six other people were killed in Iraq, including a US soldier.

Two Iraqis died as rebels bombed a minibus in central Baghdad's Al-Shorjah market in an attack which also wounded five others, an interior ministry official said.

The US military announced the death of the soldier, killed on Monday south of Baghdad, in a roadside bomb attack, the most common but the deadliest weapon used by insurgents against coalition troops.

The latest casualty took to 2,403 the death toll for US servicemen in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion, according to an AFP count based on Pentagon figures.

Elsewhere three other people were killed.

Police also found six bullet-riddled bodies across the country, the latest victims of a spate of extra-judicial killings that have torn Iraq amid mounting sectarian tensions this year.

Meanwhile, Iraqi leaders discussed forming the country's long awaited national unity government for which elections were held on December 15.

Iraq's minority Sunni Arabs and the majority Shiites were seen sorting out differences over ministerial berths and on the crucial post of a deputy prime minister.

The Sunni Arabs were to retain one of the two deputy premier posts after Shiite leaders dropped plans to offer it to the secularist Shiite former premier Iyad Allawi.

"The Shiites are supporting us for one of the deputy prime minister posts," said Zhafer al-Ani, spokesman for the main Sunni parliamentary bloc, the National Concord Front.

The Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, which is to lead the new government, had last week floated the idea of giving the position to pro-Western Allawi, resulting in strong Sunni opposition.

Ani had insisted the minority community needed to be given the job if the sting was to be taken out of the insurgency raging in Sunni areas.

"All troubles in Iraq are in Sunni areas, so it is important to have a Sunni deputy prime minister," he said last week.

On Tuesday Ani declined to be drawn on the progress of talks on other positions, but said there would be agreements soon.

Shiite negotiators had also voiced optimism about the progress of the coalition talks Monday.

Leaders of the Kurdish alliance also met Tuesday in Kurdistan's Salaheddin province, and "demanded to retain the foreign ministry portfolio and a deputy premier's post", an alliance official said.

Prime minister designate Nuri al-Maliki has said he expects to complete his cabinet line-up by May 10.

Copyright 2006 Agence France-Presse. All rights reserved