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14 more U.S. soldiers die in Iraq

The deadliest attack kills five U.S. soldiers, three Iraqi civilians and an interpreter.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 22, 2007

BAGHDAD - The U.S. command announced Thursday the deaths of 14 more American troops, most killed in powerful roadside bombs in Baghdad.

Also, the heavily fortified Green Zone suffered a mortar barrage as militants struck back despite a massive military offensive.

"The enemy's going to push back, he's going to try and make us look unsuccessful, " Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said. "We have said it's going to be a long, tough fight over the summer. This is part of that long, tough fight."

At least 15 servicemen have been killed since Tuesday. The military had previously announced one of the deaths.

Roadside carnage

The deadliest attack was a roadside bomb that struck a convoy in northeastern Baghdad on Thursday, killing five U.S. soldiers, three Iraqi civilians and one Iraqi interpreter, the military said.

About 12:30 p.m. the same day, a rocket-propelled grenade struck a vehicle in northern Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding three others.

The U.S. military has sought to seize the momentum against al-Qaida and other militants with the arrival in Iraq of 30, 000 additional troops. It has launched several large-scale operations.

But the military has also faced a series of recent attacks on U.S. forces who are more vulnerable as they increasingly take to the streets and remote outposts, and the bombs appear to be growing more powerful.

Some U.S. soldiers have reported a recent increase in the use of rocket-propelled grenades.

Garver said one of the aims of the latest offensives was to deprive militants of their safe havens where they have been able to assemble huge quantities of explosives.

"We have seen in some instances the enemy having the ability to build a bigger bomb in the areas that we have not habitually operated in because they've got more time to do that, " he said. "We're looking to take that ability to build a bigger bomb away from the enemy."

Total hits 3, 545

The latest U.S. deaths raised to at least 3, 545 the number of American troops who have died since the war began in 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Besides the deaths on Thursday, another powerful roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers and wounded another in western Baghdad, and two Marines died in fighting in Anbar province, to the west of the capital.

Southwest of Baghdad, two soldiers were killed and four were wounded Tuesday when explosions struck near their vehicle, the military said.

North of the capital in Diyala province, thousands of U.S. troops have been engaged in an offensive against al-Qaida in Iraq that began Monday.

Elsewhere, Iraqi army Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim al-Rubaie said that the offensive that began Monday in Diyala was going well and that operations were focused on the areas of Jurf al-Milih and the northern part of the Baqubah market, which has been the site of several recent execution-style killings by al-Qaida.

Hospital officials said ambulances were bringing dozens of bodies of militants who have been killed from the western half of the city, which was under a strict curfew.

The latest military report on the Diyala offensive said U.S.-led forces had killed 41 insurgents, discovered five weapons caches and destroyed 25 bombs and five booby-trapped houses.

Other developments in Iraq

Green Zone attacks: A series of mortars or rockets slammed into the U.S.-controlled Green Zone in Baghdad on Thursday, and an official said at least one round hit a parking lot used by the Iraqi prime minister. The barrage occurred a day after the U.S. military acknowledged "an increasing pattern of attacks" against the complex despite a security crackdown now in its fifth month.

Extended tours of duty: Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday he does not anticipate extending U.S. troop deployments in Iraq beyond 15 months, calling the idea a "worst-case scenario." Gates also endorsed the military's efforts to work with some Iraqi insurgents who initially fought against U.S. forces. Military deployments were recently extended to a maximum of 15 months from 12 months. Gates said it was his hope to move as soon as possible back to 12-month deployments, with a year at home, and then eventually to 12-month terms with two years at home. But he also said that a recent report's recommendation that troops get one month off for every three they serve on the front lines would be "a challenge to manage."

- Mosque bombing: Thousands of protesters rallied in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, waving Iraqi flags and the black and green Shiite banners with slogans such as "Death to al-Qaida" in a show of unity after the bombing that brought down the twin minarets of a revered mosque in Samarra and created a wave of sectarian bloodshed.

- Misguided missile: A spokesman for the 1920s Revolution Brigades, a nationalist Sunni insurgent group that has begun cooperating with U.S. and Iraqi forces in the fight against al-Qaida in Diyala, said an airstrike mistakenly struck a building used as a headquarters by the group. The spokesman, who declined to be identified, said two members were killed and four wounded.

[Last modified June 21, 2007, 22:48:33]