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By TAREK AL-ISSAWI, Associated Press
Writer
FALLUJAH, Iraq - Two U.S. soldiers were killed
and one was wounded in an ambush north of Baghdad, the military said, and
insurgents on Sunday attacked a convoy in this turbulent city west of the
capital, setting off huge explosions in several vehicles.
In a third incident, three apparent Iraqi attackers were also reported
killed.
There were no reports of casualties in the Sunday morning attack
against what appeared to be a U.S. ammunition truck here in Fallujah, 35
miles west of Baghdad in the "Sunni Triangle."
Dozens of Iraqi youths cheered and danced in celebration as contents of
the flaming vehicles continued to explode.
U.S. troops and Iraqi police kept journalists away from the scene, but
from a distance it appeared that three American vehicles, including at
least one truck and one Humvee, were ablaze.
There were conflicting reports whether the attack in the eastern end of
the city was triggered by a roadside bomb or by rocket-propelled grenades.
"Shells were flying everywhere, like fireworks," said Khalil
al-Qubaisi, 45, a nearby shopkeeper.
In the northern attack, an American mounted patrol was ambushed by
rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire at 10:45 p.m. Saturday
outside the northern city of Kirkuk, 159 miles north of Baghdad, said Maj.
Josslyn Aberle, spokeswoman for the 4th Infantry Division.
The patrol from Task Force Ironhorse � a force that includes the 4th
Division � returned fire, but no additional enemy contact followed, Aberle
said.
In other action in the north early Sunday, U.S. troops were attacked by
grenades and small arms and returned fire, killing three Iraqis near
Hawija, 150 miles north of Baghdad, the 4th Infantry Division reported.
Other American forces detained five attackers north of Beiji, 120 miles
north of Baghdad, after a brief firefight.
Resistance forces have mounted an average of 22 attacks a day on the
U.S. occupation forces in Iraq (news
- web
sites) in recent weeks, mostly in the so-called "Sunni Triangle," a
Sunni Muslim-dominated area stretching from the west of Baghdad to the
north. The area was a strong base of support for Saddam's Baath Party
regime toppled by the U.S.-British invasion earlier this year.
Saturday's deaths came barely a day after four American soldiers were
killed in a roadside explosion in Baghdad and a clash with Shiite Muslim
gunmen in the southern shrine city of Karbala, on the deadliest day for
the occupation force in a month.
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