Nine American Troops Killed in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A roadside bomb killed seven U.S. soldiers in northwest Baghdad and two Marines were killed in action in western Iraq Thursday, the deadliest day for American forces since a suicide attack last month, the U.S. military said.
The soldiers with Task Force Baghdad were on patrol Thursday evening when their Bradley fighting vehicle hit the explosive, the military said in a statement. Everyone inside the Bradley was killed.
No other details were immediately available. But Iraq's insurgents have frequently targeted American troops with crude explosives planted in roads and detonated remotely as patrols pass.
Two U.S. Marines were killed in action Thursday in the volatile western Anbar province, the military said. The Marines typically do not give details of how or where their troops are killed for fear of compromising security.
The nine American deaths made it the highest single-day toll for the U.S. military in Iraq since a suicide bombing at a mess tent in Mosul on Dec. 21 killed 22 people, including 14 U.S. soldiers and three American contractors.
Several American troops have been killed in recent days in Baghdad and in Anbar, which is home to the volatile city of Fallujah. On Tuesday, five American troops were killed, including three Task Force Baghdad soldiers who died in a roadside bombing, one slain who was slain in Anbar, and another who died in Balad, north of Baghdad.
The military said the names of the troops who died Thursday were being withheld until their families are notified.
The latest deaths brought the number of U.S. troops killed since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003 to 1,349, according to an Associated Press count. At least 1,062 died as a result of hostile action.
