JULULA, Iraq — An Iraqi man was killed outside this town in northeast Diyala province early Friday when his truck, which was carrying barriers to be used for election security was blown up, U.S. military officials said.

Three trucks carrying cement "t-walls" were parked near the U.S. Army’s Combat Outpost Cobra waiting to take the barriers to polling stations when insurgents planted several anti-tank mines under the trucks and detonated them remotely around midnight, officials said.

The cab of one of the trucks was decimated and all three caught fire. It was the latest in a string of recent attacks in the area, most targeting Iraqi security forces with roadside bombs and mortar attacks, said Capt. Gabriel Austin of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.

He expects an uptick in violence in the run-up to provincial elections.

"I think it’s meant to intimidate (Iraqis) and to discredit the elections," he said.

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