BAGHDAD, April 18 -- Ten U.S. troops were killed in combat across Iraq (news - web sites) and two others died in accidents, the military announced Sunday, as Spain's new prime minister ordered the withdrawal of 1,300 Spanish troops from the country.
The deaths of the 10 troops, all on Saturday, raised to nearly 100 the number of Americans killed in combat in April, already the deadliest month since the U.S. invasion began, as urban rebellions, ambushes of military convoys and kidnappings have convulsed the country.
In the bloodiest encounter of the weekend, five Marines were killed near the Syrian border in a day-long firefight with a force of 120 to 150 insurgents armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
The battle began when a Marine patrol came under attack at 8 a.m. Saturday near Qusaybah, according to Maj. Thomas V. Johnson, a Marine spokesman. "Additional Marines, backed by helicopter close-air support, were dispatched to the city and soon came under fire by enemy equipped with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades," he said. The Marines estimated that 25 to 30 guerrillas were killed.
The same morning, a soldier from the 1st Cavalry Division, which formally took control of Baghdad last week, was killed and two were injured when their M1-A1 Abrams tank rolled over in a northern section of the city. Rollovers involving the 63-ton tank are rare, and the division has ordered a safety investigation.
A half-hour later, another 1st Cavalry Division soldier was killed when his convoy hit a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad. In the evening, three soldiers from the 1st Armored Division were shot to death in an ambush near the southern town of Diwaniyah.
In addition, a Marine was killed "by enemy action" Saturday in western Anbar province.
In northern Iraq on Saturday night, a 1st Infantry Division soldier was electrocuted while working on a generator at a military base near Samarra around 10:30 p.m.
The deaths occurred the same day the military abruptly closed sections of several major highways to all traffic except military and contractor vehicles, severely slowing the movement of people and goods to and from the Iraqi capital.
U.S. military commanders said the shutdown applied to 180 miles of roads leading into the capital from the north, south and west. Persistent attacks on convoys have led to shortages of food and other essential supplies at American military installations and the headquarters of the U.S.-led occupation authority.
By Sewell Chan, Washington Post Foreign Service
The deaths of the 10 troops, all on Saturday, raised to nearly 100 the number of Americans killed in combat in April, already the deadliest month since the U.S. invasion began, as urban rebellions, ambushes of military convoys and kidnappings have convulsed the country.
In the bloodiest encounter of the weekend, five Marines were killed near the Syrian border in a day-long firefight with a force of 120 to 150 insurgents armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
The battle began when a Marine patrol came under attack at 8 a.m. Saturday near Qusaybah, according to Maj. Thomas V. Johnson, a Marine spokesman. "Additional Marines, backed by helicopter close-air support, were dispatched to the city and soon came under fire by enemy equipped with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades," he said. The Marines estimated that 25 to 30 guerrillas were killed.
The same morning, a soldier from the 1st Cavalry Division, which formally took control of Baghdad last week, was killed and two were injured when their M1-A1 Abrams tank rolled over in a northern section of the city. Rollovers involving the 63-ton tank are rare, and the division has ordered a safety investigation.
A half-hour later, another 1st Cavalry Division soldier was killed when his convoy hit a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad. In the evening, three soldiers from the 1st Armored Division were shot to death in an ambush near the southern town of Diwaniyah.
In addition, a Marine was killed "by enemy action" Saturday in western Anbar province.
In northern Iraq on Saturday night, a 1st Infantry Division soldier was electrocuted while working on a generator at a military base near Samarra around 10:30 p.m.
The deaths occurred the same day the military abruptly closed sections of several major highways to all traffic except military and contractor vehicles, severely slowing the movement of people and goods to and from the Iraqi capital.
U.S. military commanders said the shutdown applied to 180 miles of roads leading into the capital from the north, south and west. Persistent attacks on convoys have led to shortages of food and other essential supplies at American military installations and the headquarters of the U.S.-led occupation authority.
By Sewell Chan, Washington Post Foreign Service
