Five U.S. soldiers killed in Baghdad bomb blast
Pastor Dale Morgan
Friday June 29, 4:12 PM Reuters
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Five U.S. soldiers killed in Baghdad bomb blast*
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Five U.S. soldiers were killed on Thursday in a
roadside bomb attack on their patrol in Baghdad, the U.S. military said
on Friday, bringing the monthly death toll for U.S. forces in Iraq close
to 100.
In a statement, the military said seven other soldiers were wounded in
the apparent coordinated ambush, which included small arms fire and
rocket propelled grenade attacks.
"All of the wounded soldiers were evacuated to a combat support hospital
following the attack. One soldier has returned to duty," the statement said.
The deaths take the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq to 99 so far
this month, according to icasualties.org, a Web site that tracks
military tolls.
That is lower than the 126 U.S. soldiers who died in May, but still
makes it one of the bloodiest months for U.S. forces in Iraq this year.
U.S. President George W. Bush has sent 28,000 extra troops mainly to
Baghdad to help curb bloodshed and buy time for Shi'ite Prime Minister
Nuri al-Maliki to reach a political accommodation with disaffected
minority Sunni Arabs, who are locked in a cycle of violence with
majority Shi'ite Muslims.
A total of 157,000 U.S. troops are now in Iraq.
U.S. commanders have warned of increased casualties as more soldiers
deploy in and around the capital.