Five US troops killed in Iraq making total 4,044

Five US troops killed in Iraq
4 hours ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) — The US military on Tuesday announced the deaths of five troops in a series of bombings as blasts in Baghdad killed 10 people and a female suicide bomber slaughtered six Iraqis north of the capital.

Two US marines were killed and three others wounded when a bomber slammed his explosives-laden car into a checkpoint near the western Iraqi city of Ramadi at around 7:30 am (0430 GMT), the American military said.

Two Iraqi policemen and 24 civilians were also wounded in the attack near Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, which was once the symbol of Sunni Arab insurgency against US forces.

A third marine was killed and another wounded in a separate roadside bomb attack in Basra on Monday, the military said in a separate statement.

This is the first US military loss in Basra since Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a crackdown against Shiite militiamen there on March 25.

US forces have been sent to Basra to support Iraqi troops after fierce clashes broke out in the port city following the crackdown.

Another roadside bomb attack killed two US soldiers "during operations" and wounded another two, as well as three Iraqis, in north-central Salaheddin province on Monday, the US military said.

The latest deaths bring the US military's overall toll since the March 2003 invasion to 4,044, according to an AFP tally based on independent website www.icasualties.org.
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