BAGHDAD - Sunni-led insurgents killed 26 people in Iraq on the opening day of Saddam Hussein's trial, including six Shiites who were lined up at a factory and gunned down in front of their fellow workers, police said.

In two other deadly attacks Wednesday, six civilians were killed when mortar rounds hit their homes in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, and three election commission officials were shot and killed on the outskirts of the capital in Abu Ghraib, as they drove home after another round of counting ballots from the constitutional referendum, police said.

A bomb also went off at a famous monument in a Baghdad square honoring the 8th-century founder of Baghdad to whom Saddam often compared himself.

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The blast, which toppled the bust of Abu Jaafar Al-Mansour but caused no injuries, appeared to be a jab at the former dictator.

In addition, the military said that two coalition soldiers were killed in attacks Tuesday night.

Iraqis are still awaiting the outcome of last weekend's referendum, as the slower-than-expected vote counting continued. Questions about the integrity of the vote and delays in getting marked ballots to the capital mean final results from the landmark vote won't be announced until Friday at the earliest, officials said.