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Articles: US troops die in new Iraq attack

Posted by Admin on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 - 06:45 AM

Nine US soldiers have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on a base north of Baghdad, military officials have said.

Protests in Adhamiya against US wall project

The US is defending the idea behind its controversial wall

Some 20 troops and an Iraqi civilian were injured in the attack, which happened in the volatile province of Diyala, to the north-east of Baghdad.

There has been fierce fighting in Diyala recently, pitting US and Iraqi forces against Sunni and Shia militias.

The latest bombing followed a series of blasts in the town of Ramadi on Monday that killed 20 people and hurt dozens.

Three cars exploded in quick succession near a restaurant and market in Ramadi's western district of al-Taamim.

Witnesses said there was a heavy police presence in the town because of reports that there were explosives there.

Earlier on Monday blasts hit Baqouba and Mosul, and near where the new US envoy was giving his first briefing in Baghdad.

It is in no-one's intention that this (the wall) is going to be a permanent state of affairs

Ryan Crocker

Profile: Ryan Crocker

Ambassador Ryan Croker said the next few months were critical in the effort to reconcile Iraq's warring communities and urged the government to make use of a US-led security plan in the capital.

He also defended the thinking behind a controversial wall being built around the flashpoint Adhamiya area, a Sunni enclave on the mainly Shia east bank of the Tigris.

On Sunday Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said he had ordered a halt to the project after it drew strong criticism from residents and Sunni leaders.

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