Baghdad, Iraq ? The governor of the Baghdad region, known for cooperating closely with American troops, was assassinated along with six bodyguards as he drove to work Tuesday in yet another bloody day of insurgent attacks that exposed grave security flaws in Iraq with elections just weeks away.

Other assaults Tuesday killed five American troops as well as eight Iraqi commandos and two civilians, bringing the death toll in the last three days to more than 70. Despite the violence, which U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces have been helpless to prevent, American and Iraqi leaders insist the Jan. 30 vote would go forward.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan acknowledged security “challenges” in Iraq but said the election timetable would not be changed.

“For much of the country, the situation is secure enough to move forward on holding elections,” McClellan said. “There are a few areas that we’re continuing to work to improve the security situation, so those areas will be able to have as full a participation as possible in elections.”

While it’s true that many areas of Iraq are calm, there are vast regions, including the capital, that are extremely dangerous. In places like Fallujah, which was bombed to ruins in a U.S.-led campaign in November, and the northern city of Mosul, there has been little headway in preparing for the vote.

The attacks have prompted Sunni Arab clerics to call for a boycott, and Iraq’s largest Sunni political party announced it was pulling out of the race because of poor security.

The country’s Shiites, many of whom are in the government, want to take power but they also want the Sunnis to participate in the vote. A low turnout because of the fear of violence or a Sunni boycott could undermine the legitimacy of the country’s first free elections since the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958.

McClellan confirmed that President Bush spoke with interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi on Monday, but said they did not discuss postponing the vote. They focused on “some of the ongoing challenges as Iraq moves forward toward a free, democratic and peaceful future,” he said.

Those challenges were made clear yet again Tuesday.

Iraqi security forces gather near the bullet-riddled vehicle that was carrying some of the bodyguards of the governor of the Baghdad province, Ali al-Haidari, in Baghdad's northern neighborhood of Hurriyah. Al-Haidari and six of his bodyguards were killed when gunmen attacked their three-vehicle convoy Tuesday.

The militant group of Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al-Qaida in Iraq, claimed responsibility for killing Gov. Ali al-Haidari and his bodyguards, according to a statement posted on a Web site known for carrying such claims.

“We tell every traitor and supporter of the Jews and Christians that this is your fate,” the statement said. Its authenticity could not immediately be verified.

Al-Haidari’s three-vehicle convoy was passing through Baghdad’s northern neighborhood of Hurriyah when gunmen opened fire, said the chief of his security detail, who asked to be identified only as Maj. Mazen.

“They came from different directions and opened fire at us,” Mazen said, reached on al-Haidari’s cell phone.

Al-Haidari was the target of an assassination attempt last year that killed two of his bodyguards. He is the highest-ranking Iraqi official killed since the former president of the now defunct Governing Council — Abdel-Zahraa Othman, better known as Izzadine Saleem — was assassinated in May.