The four U.S. solders were killed around dawn, when two rockets were fired from a truck and slammed into the base in Taji, 12 miles north of Baghdad, Air Force Lt. Col. Sam Hudspath said. U.S. helicopter gunships then destroyed the truck, the military said.
Six soldiers were wounded in the attack, three of them critically, the military said. The military had initially reported that a fifth soldier died of his wounds afterwards, but later said that report was incorrect.
The deaths, along with that of a Marine announced Saturday, brought to 106 the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq since the beginning of April. The military announced the death of a soldier in a non-combat incident, bringing to 715 the number servicemembers who have died in the country.
Anywhere from 900 to 1,200 Iraqis have been killed in April — depending on various reports of the death toll from Fallujah.
Some of the mortar shells in Saturday's barrage against Sadr City, which killed at least seven people, hit two miles from any U.S. position — suggesting they may have deliberately targeted civilians in the Shiite neighborhood.
Three shells pounded the neighborhood's main souk, known as the Chicken Market, just as morning crowds were gathering to shop. Human flesh could be seen among scattered market stalls and burned-out cars. Craters were blasted out of the asphalt.
At least six Iraqis were killed and 38 wounded, said Yassin Abdel-Qader, a doctor in the area's Health Directorate. The Baghdad slum is home to more than 1 million people.
Hours later, a projectile struck a two-story house, smashing through its roof and down into the ground floor, tearing a woman to pieces as she took an afternoon nap and wounding her daughter. At least two more landed later in the afternoon, hitting a main street on the edge of Sadr City, breaking windows but causing no casualties.
Iraqis called the projectiles rockets, but the U.S. military said mortars were fired.
Before the mortar fire, U.S. troops launched a pre-dawn raid into Sadr City, pursuing al-Sadr militiamen. They did not capture the targets they sought but got caught in a gunbattle in which two Iraqis were killed, according to U.S. Maj. Phil Smith.
During the fighting, a shell pierced the wall of a house, exploding in a bedroom and severely burning a 9-year-old girl and two teenage girls as they slept.
By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer
Six soldiers were wounded in the attack, three of them critically, the military said. The military had initially reported that a fifth soldier died of his wounds afterwards, but later said that report was incorrect.
The deaths, along with that of a Marine announced Saturday, brought to 106 the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq since the beginning of April. The military announced the death of a soldier in a non-combat incident, bringing to 715 the number servicemembers who have died in the country.
Anywhere from 900 to 1,200 Iraqis have been killed in April — depending on various reports of the death toll from Fallujah.
Some of the mortar shells in Saturday's barrage against Sadr City, which killed at least seven people, hit two miles from any U.S. position — suggesting they may have deliberately targeted civilians in the Shiite neighborhood.
Three shells pounded the neighborhood's main souk, known as the Chicken Market, just as morning crowds were gathering to shop. Human flesh could be seen among scattered market stalls and burned-out cars. Craters were blasted out of the asphalt.
At least six Iraqis were killed and 38 wounded, said Yassin Abdel-Qader, a doctor in the area's Health Directorate. The Baghdad slum is home to more than 1 million people.
Hours later, a projectile struck a two-story house, smashing through its roof and down into the ground floor, tearing a woman to pieces as she took an afternoon nap and wounding her daughter. At least two more landed later in the afternoon, hitting a main street on the edge of Sadr City, breaking windows but causing no casualties.
Iraqis called the projectiles rockets, but the U.S. military said mortars were fired.
Before the mortar fire, U.S. troops launched a pre-dawn raid into Sadr City, pursuing al-Sadr militiamen. They did not capture the targets they sought but got caught in a gunbattle in which two Iraqis were killed, according to U.S. Maj. Phil Smith.
During the fighting, a shell pierced the wall of a house, exploding in a bedroom and severely burning a 9-year-old girl and two teenage girls as they slept.
By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer
