But as perception and a sense of fear have proved to be some of the insurgents' most formidable tactics, the guerrillas have sought to spread attacks around Iraq.
"They want to kill us," said Salama Khafaji, a prominent Shiite candidate who survived an assassination attempt Sunday. "Even the people who work for us are in danger."
The Vatican demanded the release of Basile Georges Casmoussa, 66.
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"The security situation is getting worse day by day," she said, although she dismissed the attacks as "nothing but the last breaths of a dying body."
In the southernmost city of Basra, mortar shells were fired overnight at three schools that will be used as voting centers, but no one was wounded, Reuters reported.
Other attacks were reported in Ramadi, a restive city in western Iraq, where a suicide bomber attacked a U.S. patrol. At least three civilians were killed. The U.S. command said two Marines were killed in action in Anbar province, which includes Ramadi, but did not say if they died in the bombing, the Associated Press reported.
Guerrillas assaulted police stations in the northern cities of Sharqat and Dawr and attacked polling stations in Musayyib, south of Baghdad, and Mosul, news agencies reported.
The insurgents who attacked the minibus in Buhruz were riding in two cars. At about 7 a.m., they ambushed the soldiers outside the provincial television and radio station, said a spokesman, Lt. Col. Mohammed Jassim. The minibus was burned, with corpses still inside hours after the attack.
"I saw the rocket-propelled grenade hit the bus, and I almost lost my mind," said Amer Mansour, 32, the owner of a nearby grocery.
It was a similar scene in Baiji, where the car bomb detonated, hurling the body of one policeman more than 100 yards, witnesses said.
"I heard the explosion, and it shattered glass everywhere," said Salih Khamis, a 26-year-old merchant. "I saw cars burned and destroyed, fire, and body parts all over."
Capt. Aqil Salim, 39, a policeman recovering in Baiji General Hospital with burns to both legs, said the driver of the car bomb was in his twenties. The attacker steered the white Malibu toward a barricade, where it detonated, Salim said.
On Monday, Iraqi expatriates began registering to vote. An estimated 1 million Iraqis abroad are believed eligible to take part in the elections.
Special correspondents Hasan Shammari in Baqubah and Salih Saif Aldin and Omar Fekeiki in Baghdad contributed to this report.
