http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...jdKy6g&refer=usBloomberg.ComIraq Suicide Bomb Kills Nine U.S. Soldiers, Wounds 20 By Ed Johnson
April 24
(Bloomberg) -- A suicide car bomber killed nine U.S. soldiers and injured 20 in an attack on a patrol base northeast of Baghdad in one of the deadliest attacks on coalition forces in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.
The bomber detonated the blast next to a U.S. military base yesterday in Diyala province, where fighting between U.S. forces and insurgents has increased in recent months. Fifteen soldiers were returned to duty after medical attention, five others and an Iraqi civilian are being treated in a coalition medical center, the U.S. military said in an e-mailed statement.
The Islamic State of Iraq, an alliance of Sunni Muslim groups that includes al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack in an Internet statement, the Associated Press said.
A separate bombing on a checkpoint near Diyala's provincial council headquarters killed seven Iraqi policemen and wounded 12, the military said.
U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi forces are fighting an insurgency and attempting to stem sectarian violence between Shiite and Sunni Muslim communities. More than 70 U.S. service members have been killed in action this month as they intensify efforts to quell violence in Baghdad and the western province of al-Anbar.
The security crackdown prompted insurgents to move north into Diyala, which has become the third-deadliest region in Iraq for U.S. forces, up from eighth in 2006, the Washington Post reported this week. At least 17 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Diyala since March.
Deadly Attack
The most serious single attack against U.S. forces so far occurred when a bomb killed 14 Marines in an amphibious assault vehicle near the town of Haditha on Aug. 3, 2005.
Some 2,693 U.S. service members had been killed in action in Iraq as of yesterday, according to the Department of Defense Web site. The total number of deaths from all causes was 3,313.
Two car bombs detonated close to the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad today, state television reported. At least one civilian was injured. The embassy is close to the fortified Green Zone, where government offices and Embassies are located.
Bombings across Iraq yesterday killed at least 33 people and wounded about 49. The worst attack took place in the western city of Ramadi, where at least two car bombs killed 15 people and wounded five others, state television reported.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: April 24, 2007 07:47 EDT