Iraq

Amid attacks, troops in Iraq savor their gifts from home

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed three U.S. soldiers Wednesday as tens of thousands of American troops across Iraq spent a tense Christmas Eve in a high state of readiness against attack by insurgents.

Five Iraqi civilians and a suicide bomber were killed in two separate bombings in Baghdad and the northern city of Irbil, making it the deadliest day for Iraqis and the U.S. military since the Dec. 13 capture of Saddam Hussein.

Late Wednesday, what was believed to have been a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a heavily fortified downtown Baghdad hotel that is home to many Westerners. The projectile missed the Ishtar Sheraton Hotel, on the eastern bank of the Tigris River. No injuries were reported.

The American soldiers, identified as members of the 4th Infantry Division's Task Force Ironhorse, were traveling in a convoy outside the town of Samarra, north of Baghdad, about 9 a.m. when their vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb.

Samarra lies on the northern edge of the so-called "Sunni triangle," where remnants of Hussein's regime, Baathist loyalists who enjoyed power and prestige under his rule, are now the driving force behind a guerrilla war targeting the U.S.-led coalition.

In the largely autonomous Kurdish north, violence struck when a powerful car bomb exploded in the heart of Irbil, killing at least three people along with the bomber. About 20 people were injured.

And in Baghdad, one Iraqi was killed and at least two others were injured when a roadside bomb detonated in a traffic tunnel during the midday rush. Iraqi police said the victims were riding in a civilian minibus that was driving by as the bomb - likely targeting a U.S. military vehicle - went off.

Meanwhile, American troops pressed ahead with a hunt for insurgents, carrying out house-to-house searches in several towns and cities. The latest raids netted one important suspect, a tribal sheik described as a close associate of one of the former regime's top fugitives.

The man, arrested in the northern city of Mosul, was identified as Ghazi Hanash, who has strong ties to former Vice President Izzat Ibrahim. Ibrahim, now at the top of the American most-wanted list, is believed to be important in the insurgency.

Dozens of insurgents have been detained since Hussein's capture near Tikrit.

U.S. commanders had said that they expected at least a temporary spike in attacks aimed at the coalition and its allies in the wake of Hussein's arrest and that they consider the level of threat to be particularly high over the Christmas holidays.

Around Iraq, U.S. forces started their holiday celebrations early. At an Army camp in Fallujah, 30 miles from Baghdad, the 82nd Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade opened gifts when they arrived Wednesday.

"No point in waiting out here. . . . ," explained Spc. Nicholas Lavengood, 24, of Bloomington, Ind.

" . . . Because if you don't, you might never get the chance," said Spc. Gerard Baqez, 23, of San Jose, Calif.

The soldiers got the obvious: CDs, DVDs, magazines. The practical: shampoo, toothpaste, long underwear. The strange: antelope jerky. The goofy: miniature race cars and Play-doh. And the comforting: home-baked cookies from Mom.

This is the 3rd Brigade's second Christmas abroad. Last year, the unit was in the mountains of Afghanistan. This year, it is in "Dreamland," once one of Uday Hussein's resorts, a tacky desert oasis with man-made lakes and orange-and-yellow drink stands.

Many of the 3rd Brigade's soldiers have been working nonstop since they arrived in August, especially after Hussein's capture. This week the 82nd Airborne captured 96 suspected insurrectionists and terrorists in Fallujah and 40 more in the desert.

The brigade's commanders had hoped to give the 900 men and women on this base a quiet day on Christmas Eve. To everyone's relief, the fates cooperated.

Spc. Andrew Centella, 21, a gunner from Brooksville, was grateful he had been able to get his hands on a phone long enough to reach his wife, Heather, 20. They married just before Centella was deployed to Iraq, and this is their third Christmas apart. She was depressed, and he was glad he had had a chance to tell her: "I'll be home soon. Please don't worry."

- Information from the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post was used in this report.

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