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Sunday, May 06, 2007

12 U.S. Troops Killed In Iraq, 2 In Afghanistan

The U.S. military said six soldiers and a civilian journalist were killed in a roadside bombing Sunday.
That raises to 12 the number of troop deaths reported over the last three days.
The latest attack occurred in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad. Two other soldiers from Task Force Lightning were wounded. The military statement did not provide more details or the nationality of the journalist.

Earlier, the military reported that another Task Force Lightning soldier died Sunday in a non-combat related incident. The military said it's investigating.
Another roadside bomb, this one in southern Baghdad Sunday, killed one soldier and wounded a second.
And north of the capital, two more roadside bombs struck a vehicle from the Multi-National Division, killing one soldier and wounding two.
The incident followed a roadside bombing in western Baghdad Friday, that killed one soldier.
Elsewhere, two Marines were killed Saturday during combat operations in Anbar province, a stronghold of Sunni insurgents west of Baghdad.
The deaths raised to at least 3,373 members of the U.S. military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
Afghan Soldier Kills 2 U.S. Troops
The U.S. military said a man in an Afghan army uniform shot and killed two American soldiers Sunday.
Officials said the two were posted as guards outside a top-security prison near Kabul. Two other soldiers were wounded.
The gunman was then killed by Afghan troops.
U.S. and Afghan authorities said they're trying to determine the motive for the attack. A U.S. military spokesman said "indications are" that the shooter was a member of the Afghan National Army. He said the U.S. is working "side-by-side" with the Afghan army to investigate the incident.
Car Bombings Kill More Than 30 In Baghdad
Attacks across Iraq Sunday have killed more than 40 people including at least 27 who died in a car bombing in a commercial district in western Baghdad.
It's one of the deadliest attacks in the capital in recent days, with at least 80 others hurt. And it happened despite the U.S. security surge that began nearly three months ago.
Another car bomb went off this afternoon near the Labor Ministry. Four people were killed there, eight others wounded.
Among the other bombings and shootings in Iraq Sunday, three children were killed in the city of Kut northeast of Baghdad when a roadside bomb went off outside their home. Their parents weren't hurt.
Three police officers and a bystander died when insurgents set off a car bomb in one town and attacked a checkpoint in another.
Police also report finding the bullet-riddled bodies of three more men. All had been blindfolded, handcuffed and dumped in the Tigris River.
More Reconstruction Dollars FlowingThe Army general in charge of handing out contracts in Iraq said they're going to Iraqi businesses as much as possible.
Major General Darryl Scott told the story of an Iraqi who fled the country with his family as a teenager. He returned four years ago and got a small contract to support coalition forces. Scott said the same man now has $17 million in contracts, and is part of a wave of new Iraqi entrepreneurs.
The general said the more contracts Iraqi businesses get, the better the product they put out. He said that's helping Iraq move away from its socialist past and toward a free-market economy and is also teaching its people good business practices.

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