At least 20 people were reported dead today in bombings and gun battles in Uzbekistan, a strategic ally of the United States that borders Afghanistan. It was the third straight day of violence there. Bombs and shootings took the lives of at least 19 people on Sunday and Monday in Uzbekistan, in Central Asia, where the United States has maintained a military base since shortly after Sept. 11, 2001. An Interior Ministry official told The Associated Press that 20 terror suspects and 3 police officers had been killed. Much of the violence was directed at police checkpoints. The government said that some of the dead had been shot by police officers and that others had blown themselves up, according to The A.P.; 16 died in a siege at an apartment building. Full Story