A roadside bomb has struck a US military convoy in eastern Baghdad, wounding two soldiers.

The blast early on Thursday caused a Humvee to slide off the road and flip over into a canal, said Sergeant 1st Class David Abrams, a spokesman for Task Force Baghdad.

The wounded soldiers were evacuated for treatment, he added.

The attack occurred at about 7.30am (0330 GMT) in the Sadr City neighbourhood.

Separately, armed men killed the head of Salah al-din's provincial council, police said on Thursday.

Ali Ghalib Ibrahim was shot on Wednesday evening as he was driving in the provincial capital, Tikrit, 130km north of Baghdad and near ousted president Saddam Hussein's hometown.

Demonstrations

The killing sparked demonstrations, where police battled 1000 protesters who took over Tikrit's police headquarters.

A local government spokesman said one policeman was killed and three demonstrators were injured in the clash.

The demonstrators demanded that the police chief and provincial governor step down, blaming their clan for killing Ibrahim, a member of a rival clan.

Reuters camera operator Amer Salman said armed men were among the crowd of demonstrators that clashed with police.

At least 1465 people have been killed in attacks since Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced his new government, dominated by Shia and Kurds, on 28 April.

Iran and Iraq to sign military deal

Former foes Iran and Iraq have said they will sign a military cooperation agreement that will include Iranian help in training Iraq's armed forces.

The agreement marks a considerable advance in relations between the two countries that fought a bitter 1980-1988 war and comes despite repeated US accusations that Iran has undermined security in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. 

"It's a new chapter in our relations with Iraq. We will start wide defence cooperation," Iranian Defence Minister Admiral Ali Shamkhani told a joint news conference with visiting Iraqi counterpart Sadoun al-Dulaimi.

"We're going to form some committees which will be involved in mine clearance, identifying those missing from the war and also ... to help train, rebuild and modernise the Iraqi army," Shamkhani added.

Iran last year offered to train Iraqi border guards, but Baghdad declined the offer. 

Meddling accusation

US and Iraqi officials have often accused Iran of stirring up instability in Iraq. Tehran denies meddling in Iraq or helping, arming or letting foreign fighters cross its borders.

Asked about possible US opposition to Iran-Iraq military cooperation, Shamkhani said: "No one can prevent us from reaching an agreement."

Iraq's al-Dulaimi echoed Shamkhani's comments. 

"Nobody can dictate to Iraq its relations with other countries," he said.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iraqi children try to take scrap metal from a destroyed car on a roadside in Jbala, Iraq, 70 kilometers (45 miles) south of Baghdad Thursday, July 7, 2005. (AP)