Dozens of Iraqis have died in a campaign of killings by gunmen using silenced guns and sticky bombs, raising fears that insurgents are moving beyond a reliance on largescale bombings to wreak havoc in the political vacuum left by an inconclusive election.

The assassinations have targeted police officers, tribal leaders, government officials, and members of the Awakening movement of former Sunni insurgents who turned against al Qaeda and helped turn the tide of Iraq's sectarian conflict.