BAGHDAD, June 4 -- U.S. troops patrolling in Sadr City, Baghdad's densely populated Shiite Muslim slum, were attacked Friday with automatic-rifle fire, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and hidden explosives. Five American soldiers were killed and five wounded in the deadliest of three clashes.
The attacks in the capital, which brought the number of U.S. combat deaths in Iraq to 601, coincided with hopes of a cease-fire between Shiite militia fighters and U.S. forces in the Najaf area, 90 miles to the south. The Baghdad fighting was a reminder of the violence that continues here while diplomats make plans at the United Nations for turning over limited authority to an interim government June 30 and restoring momentum to the flagging international reconstruction effort.
A U.S. military spokeswoman said the first attack occurred in the early morning, with mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades hitting a police station where U.S. soldiers were stationed. Local residents said three Iraqis were killed in the ensuing gun battle.
Later in the morning, U.S. military vehicles came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles. U.S. soldiers returned fire, the spokeswoman said, but there were no known casualties. Shortly after muezzins called the faithful to Friday's midday prayer in the strongly Muslim neighborhood, a roadside explosive detonated as U.S. troops in Humvees drove by, killing five Americans and wounding five, she reported.
Washington Post.
The attacks in the capital, which brought the number of U.S. combat deaths in Iraq to 601, coincided with hopes of a cease-fire between Shiite militia fighters and U.S. forces in the Najaf area, 90 miles to the south. The Baghdad fighting was a reminder of the violence that continues here while diplomats make plans at the United Nations for turning over limited authority to an interim government June 30 and restoring momentum to the flagging international reconstruction effort.
A U.S. military spokeswoman said the first attack occurred in the early morning, with mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades hitting a police station where U.S. soldiers were stationed. Local residents said three Iraqis were killed in the ensuing gun battle.
Later in the morning, U.S. military vehicles came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles. U.S. soldiers returned fire, the spokeswoman said, but there were no known casualties. Shortly after muezzins called the faithful to Friday's midday prayer in the strongly Muslim neighborhood, a roadside explosive detonated as U.S. troops in Humvees drove by, killing five Americans and wounding five, she reported.
Washington Post.
