3 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq
Seven troops have died so far this month in Baghdad, where the death toll had already doubled, from 13 in February to 26 in March.
BAGHDAD -- Two American soldiers were killed in eastern Baghdad and another died after an attack north of the city, the military said today as troop deaths took an upward turn amid battles between U.S. and Iraqi forces and Shiite militias.
In Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, health officials said the death toll from fighting in the last two days had reached at least 34. Sadr City residents said they were struggling to provide proper burials for the dead because of ongoing clashes, including airstrikes by U.S. helicopters and gun battles in the streets.
Evidence of the deadly impact of the fighting, which began March 25 in the southern city of Basra, could be seen in the breakdown of troop deaths in Shiite-dominated Baghdad. They went from 13 in February to 26 in March, according to www.icasualties.org, which monitors casualties in Iraq. Ten of last month's Baghdad deaths occurred after the Basra offensive, which has sparked battles in Shiite areas of the capital.
So far this month, at least seven American troops have been killed in Baghdad, including two Sunday when rockets fired from militia strongholds landed in the International Zone, where the U.S. Embassy and most Iraqi government buildings are located.
The newest reported casualties included one soldier killed by small-arms fire in eastern Baghdad today; one killed yesterday by a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad; and a third who died of injuries suffered the previous day in a bomb blast north of the capital.
With today's additional casualties, the total of American troops killed in Iraq since the start of the war reached at least 4,021.
The troop deaths came as political and military tensions increased between Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr. Sadr's Mahdi Army militia took up arms against Maliki's forces and their U.S. backers after the Basra crackdown. He said the offensive was unfairly targeting his militia, something the U.S. and Iraqi governments deny.
Late Saturday, a government council of political and security leaders said all militias must disarm if they want to take part in provincial elections planned for October. Maliki carried that further Sunday during an interview with CNN, when he specifically named the Mahdi Army. Until then, Maliki had avoided appearing to target the group and had insisted his offensive was aimed at "criminal elements" and rogue militiamen.
