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By Josh Partlow and William Branigin
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, March 10, 2008; 12:45 PM
BAGHDAD, March 10 -- Five U.S. soldiers were killed and three others were wounded Monday when a suicide bomber walked up to their foot patrol in a Baghdad neighborhood and detonated his explosives, authorities said.
Four of the soldiers were killed on the spot and one died later of injuries from the blast, the U.S. military said. An Iraqi interpreter was also wounded in the attack.
"Initial reports indicate the explosive device was a suicide vest," the military said in a statement.
It was the deadliest single attack on U.S. troops since Jan. 28, when five soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in the northern city of Mosul. Earlier in January, six soldiers were killed when a booby-trapped house blew up in Diyala province.
Monday's suicide bombing in the Mansour neighborhood broke a relative calm that had prevailed in the district, Iraqis said.
"It's been about two years since we've had a suicide attack in this area," said Iraqi Army Sgt. Majid Adil, 33, as security forces cordoned off the scene. "They were all together, and that's why this suicide bomber could kill five soldiers."
According to Iraqi authorities, the U.S. soldiers had parked their Humvees and were on foot outside shops on Mansour Street, the main commercial thoroughfare through the neighborhood, when the bomber walked up to them and blew himself up around 3:30 p.m. local time. The blast also blew out the windows of a number of shops on the street of four-story commercial buildings.
Upon arrival on the scene, Iraqi security forces sealed off the area, and firefighters used hoses to wash off the bloody street.
According to the Web site, icasualties.org, the blast brought the number of U.S. military fatalities in Iraq to 3,980. In addition, more than 29,000 U.S. personnel have been wounded in hostilities in Iraq.
"U.S. troops are working in partnership with the Iraqi Security Forces to protect the Iraqi people against terrorists, extremists and criminals," Col. Allen Batschelet, chief of staff of the Multi-National Division - Baghdad, said in a statement. "Five soldiers paid the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of the Iraqi and American people. . . . We remain resolute in our resolve to protect the people of Iraq and kill or capture those who would bring them harm."
Separately, the U.S. military reported Monday that five suspected members of al-Qaeda in Iraq were killed and 19 detained Sunday during operations in central Iraq. The military said four terrorists were killed northeast of Balad when U.S. forces raided a meeting of the group.
Meanwhile, a female suicide bomber on Monday killed the head of a local group of Sunni fighters northeast of Baghdad who had turned against al-Qaeda insurgents, the Associated Press reported.
According to the leader's brother and a provincial police official, Thaeir Ghadhban al-Karkhi, his 5-year-old niece, a 24-year cousin and a security guard were killed in the blast in Diyala province. The woman, wearing an explosives belt, entered Karkhi's home in the predominantly Sunni Muslim town of Kanaan, 13 miles east of Baqubah, AP reported.
Branigin reported from Washington.
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Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, March 10, 2008; 12:45 PM
BAGHDAD, March 10 -- Five U.S. soldiers were killed and three others were wounded Monday when a suicide bomber walked up to their foot patrol in a Baghdad neighborhood and detonated his explosives, authorities said.
Four of the soldiers were killed on the spot and one died later of injuries from the blast, the U.S. military said. An Iraqi interpreter was also wounded in the attack.
"Initial reports indicate the explosive device was a suicide vest," the military said in a statement.
It was the deadliest single attack on U.S. troops since Jan. 28, when five soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in the northern city of Mosul. Earlier in January, six soldiers were killed when a booby-trapped house blew up in Diyala province.
Monday's suicide bombing in the Mansour neighborhood broke a relative calm that had prevailed in the district, Iraqis said.
"It's been about two years since we've had a suicide attack in this area," said Iraqi Army Sgt. Majid Adil, 33, as security forces cordoned off the scene. "They were all together, and that's why this suicide bomber could kill five soldiers."
According to Iraqi authorities, the U.S. soldiers had parked their Humvees and were on foot outside shops on Mansour Street, the main commercial thoroughfare through the neighborhood, when the bomber walked up to them and blew himself up around 3:30 p.m. local time. The blast also blew out the windows of a number of shops on the street of four-story commercial buildings.
Upon arrival on the scene, Iraqi security forces sealed off the area, and firefighters used hoses to wash off the bloody street.
According to the Web site, icasualties.org, the blast brought the number of U.S. military fatalities in Iraq to 3,980. In addition, more than 29,000 U.S. personnel have been wounded in hostilities in Iraq.
"U.S. troops are working in partnership with the Iraqi Security Forces to protect the Iraqi people against terrorists, extremists and criminals," Col. Allen Batschelet, chief of staff of the Multi-National Division - Baghdad, said in a statement. "Five soldiers paid the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of the Iraqi and American people. . . . We remain resolute in our resolve to protect the people of Iraq and kill or capture those who would bring them harm."
Separately, the U.S. military reported Monday that five suspected members of al-Qaeda in Iraq were killed and 19 detained Sunday during operations in central Iraq. The military said four terrorists were killed northeast of Balad when U.S. forces raided a meeting of the group.
Meanwhile, a female suicide bomber on Monday killed the head of a local group of Sunni fighters northeast of Baghdad who had turned against al-Qaeda insurgents, the Associated Press reported.
According to the leader's brother and a provincial police official, Thaeir Ghadhban al-Karkhi, his 5-year-old niece, a 24-year cousin and a security guard were killed in the blast in Diyala province. The woman, wearing an explosives belt, entered Karkhi's home in the predominantly Sunni Muslim town of Kanaan, 13 miles east of Baqubah, AP reported.
Branigin reported from Washington.
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