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BAGHDAD, Dec 9 (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed the police chief from Iraq's Babel province south of Baghdad on Sunday, police said.

They said Major-General Qais al-Mamouri was killed when the bomb struck his convoy near the provincial capital Hilla, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad. Two guards were killed in the attack and six were wounded, police said.

Mamouri had been praised by U.S. commanders in the area for his efforts to improve security in Babel province.

An al Qaeda-linked militant group recently threatened a wave of car bomb attacks and strikes against Iraqi security forces.

In August, a roadside bomb killed the police chief of Diwaniya province in southern Iraq. Other provincial police chiefs have survived numerous assassination attempts in recent months.

(Writing by Dean Yates, Editing by Paul Tait)

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