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BAGHDAD – A suicide bomber driving a dynamite-laden truck destroyed akey bridge Saturday on a highway used by the departing US military,while separate attacks killed nine Iraqis, most of them security forcemembers, police said.

There were no casualties in the blast that destroyed the bridge outsidethe city of Ramadi, which is about 70 miles (125 kilometers) west ofBaghdad, said a local police officer. The highway is used heavily bythe US military to transport equipment out of the country, and is alsoa major roadway for civilian traffic.

The highway links Iraq to neighboring Syria and Jordan, where many Iraqis fled to escape sectarian violence.

Also Saturday, an attack on an Iraqi army convoy just outside of thecity of Fallujah killed four Iraqi soldiers and wounded 14, said apolice officer in the city, which is about 40 miles (65 kilometers)west of Baghdad.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

A US military spokesman in Iraq's western Anbar province, where bothRamadi and Fallujah are located, confirmed Saturday's explosion on thehighway bridge, which was close to two Iraqi military bases that hostUS troops in the area.

Lt. Col. Curtis L. Hill said US forces have "previously used thebridge," but he would not say what impact its destruction might have onUS military convoys transporting equipment out of Iraq to meetPresident Barack Obama's deadline for a complete pullout of combattroops by August 2010.

The Anbar provincial police commander, Maj. Gen. Tariq Yousif Mohammed,told The Associated Press that he believed the blast was aimed atIraqis. Traffic in and around Ramadi was backed up after the earlymorning explosion.

"I don't think the Americans were targeted by the blast," he said.

Western Anbar province was once a hotbed of Iraq's Sunni-dominatedinsurgency and the scene of some of the most intense US fighting withmilitants. Violence subsided significantly after local tribes decidedto align themselves with US forces instead of al-Qaida.

Attacks have not been halted entirely. Last Sunday, 19 people werekilled in a spate of coordinated car bombings across Ramadi, Anbar'sprovincial capital, sparking fears of a reinvigorated insurgency thatcould destabilize Iraq before January's crucial parliamentary elections.

The recent violence is sure to be on the agenda when Iraqi PrimeMinister Nouri al-Maliki travels to the United States. The primeminister will fly to the US on Sunday morning, said an aide to theprime minister, Yasin Majeed.

The trip is designed to coincide with an investor conference being heldin Washington D.C. that aims to drum up interest in Iraq's stillfragile economy. But al-Maliki will also meet with President BarackObama and Vice President Joe Biden, the president's point person onIraq, said the prime minister's aide.

The trip also comes as Iraq's parliament is expected to discuss keylegislation relating to the January elections. US officials are worriedthat if the legislation is not passed in time, it could push back thevote and possibly destabilize the country at a time when Americanforces are drawing down.

Al-Maliki's popularity has been linked to the dramatic drop in violencein recent years, but attacks around the country Saturday highlightedthe fragile nature of Iraq's security gains.

On Saturday, attackers threw hand grenades at an Iraqi army patrol nearKirkuk, 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad, killing twocivilians and wounding two others, a police official in the oil-richcity said.

In Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, 2 policemenand one civilian were killed in three unrelated incidents, police said.Both police officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they werenot authorized to talk to the media.

Meanwhile, Britain's Home office said Saturday that 30 Iraqis who hadfailed to get asylum in the U.K. and were sent back to Iraq were notallowed to remain in Iraq after landing in Baghdad on Thursday, whilean additional 10 were allowed to disembark.

An official at Baghdad airport denied Britain's claim, saying theroughly 30 passengers who returned to the U.K. were minority Kurds whowere too afraid to remain in Iraq. The 10 Iraqis who remained wereArabs, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was notauthorized to talk to the media. - AP