Eighteen soldiers were killed on Saturday in Iraq, casualties of an explosion at a booby-trapped house, ensuing clashes with militants, and a roadside bombing.

A group of soldiers were searching a farmhouse in Garma near the city of Fallujah, 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad, when the explosive was detonated. Minutes later, gunmen opened fire on arriving troops.

Meanwhile, a roadside bomb targeting a military convoy killed three soldiers and wounded seven just north of Baghdad.

Violence spiked last spring in Iraq. The UN said at least 7,818 civilians and 1,050 members of the security forces were slain in 2013, the highest level of deaths since 2007.

The al-Maliki is hoping for signs of the restoration of security, amid continuing protests and insurgency west of Baghdad, before Parliamentary elections on April 30.