Jan 19 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1430 GMT on Saturday.

* denotes new or updated item.

* TAL AFAR - Seven Shi'ites returning from Ashura religious observations were killed in a Katyusha rocket attack in Tal Afar, 420 km (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police Brigadier General Najim Abdullah said. Another 17 were wounded and women and children were among the casualties.

* BAGHDAD - Unidentified gunmen surrounded a Shi'ite mosque which Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie was visiting in northwestern Baghdad's Shula district on Friday, the Interior Ministry said. Interior Ministry security forces safely escorted Rubaie out of the mosque several hours later.

* HILLA - Police detained 26 members of the Shi'ite "Soldiers of Heaven" cult in a pre-dawn raid on a house in Hilla, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, police said. Sporadic fighting continued between members of the cult and Iraqi security forces in the southern cities of Basra and Nassiriya but there was no information on fresh casualties.

* KIRKUK - A bomb hidden inside a trash can killed two Shi'ite Ashura pilgrims and wounded seven others in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

* KIRKUK - Two militants were killed while trying to bury a roadside bomb which exploded in Kirkuk, police said.

* FALLUJA - Police found two bodies with gunshot wounds near Falluja, 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - One U.S soldier was killed on Friday when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle during operations north of Baghdad, the U.S military said in a statement.

SHIRQAT - The most wanted al Qaeda leader in Salahuddin province was killed on Jan. 16 by U.S. troops and Iraqi police in Shirqat, 300 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad, the U.S military said. (Editing by Paul Tait)

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