Diyala, Iraq: US soldiers killed in campaign against car bomb cells

Four US soldiers die in Iraq blasts
Web posted at: 8/8/2007 2:28:38
Source ::: REUTERS

BAGHDAD • Four more US soldiers were killed in two roadside bomb blasts in Iraq, the military said yesterday, raising the US death toll for the first six days of the month to 21 as thousands of troops battle militants in intense summer heat.
Washington is growing increasingly impatient with the lack of political progress by Iraq’s deeply divided political parties towards national reconciliation while US troops continue to die in roadside bombings, rocket and mortar attacks and shootings around the capital.
US President George W Bush has sent nearly 30,000 extra troops to help stabilise Iraq and give Maliki’s Shi’ite-led government breathing space to reach a political accommodation to end the sectarian violence that has torn the country apart.
Eighty soldiers were killed in July, a drop from the tolls in the previous three months, which were the deadliest quarter for US troops since the invasion in 2003.
August, however, is now on track to be one of the bloodiest months of the year, suggesting a resurgence in militant attacks.
Three US soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb hit their convoy south of Baghdad on Saturday, the military said, while a soldier was killed in the capital on Monday by a powerful roadside bomb of a type Washington says is being supplied to Shi’ite militias in Iraq by Iran.
Four other soldiers were killed on Monday in Diyala province, where US troops have launched a summer campaign against militants using the area as a staging ground for car bomb attacks in Baghdad.
Bush has warned that August will be a bloody month for US forces in Iraq as militants try to influence the debate over the war in Washington, where Democrats in Congress want troops pulled out within months.
A total of 3,682 US soldiers have been killed since the US-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Britain’s Defence Ministry said a British soldier was killed by small arms fire in the southern city of Basra on Monday, taking to 165 the number of British soldiers killed.
While US troops have recorded some successes against militants, Maliki’s brittle national unity government has unravelled, dealing a blow to efforts to pass laws which Washington sees as pivotal to reconciling the warring sides.
The Iraqi List said it was not quitting Maliki’s government, but the length of the boycott by its four ministers would be determined by the prime minister’s response to their action.
“The ministers will continue to run their ministries and will be in contact with the presidency council,” Jamal-Adin told the news conference.
He said the demands included the suspension of a committee charged with rooting out former members of Saddam’s Baath party and cleansing the security forces of sectarian influences.


Ceremony Commemorates Anniversary Of Purple Heart
Purple Heart Stamp Unveiled

POSTED: 7:18 pm CDT August 7, 2007
UPDATED: 8:50 pm CDT August 7, 2007

MADISON, Wis. -- More than two dozen recipients of the Purple Heart Medal gathered at the state Capitol Tuesday to commemorate the 225th anniversary of the award.
The military honor dates back to President George Washington and honors members of the military wounded or killed in action.
"I received my Purple Heart on Sept. 20, 2005, in Iraq on a rescue mission. I saved some of my friends who were hit by a car bomb," said Sgt. Lamar Deule Jr.
Deule was among the recipients at Tuesday's ceremony.
It's a great honor, and they've all helped me a great deal coping with my wounds," Deule said.
The medal worn by Wisconsin veterans was originally the badge of military merit. In 1932, it became the Purple Heart, and those who shared the honor Tuesday fought in wars from World War II to the war in Iraq.
"May all who see (the Purple Heart) know that they have served and they have fought for the freedom we enjoy today," said Maj. Gen. Al Wilkening, Wisconsin adjutant general.
Family and friends who supported the Purple Heart recipients were also recognized Tuesday.
"(We recognize) those who saw us through our recovery and today still help us with our physical and mental adjustments," said Bill Hustad, of the Military Order of Purple Heart Chapter 770.
Also as part of Purple Heart Day, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled the new Purple Heart stamp, which went on sale Tuesday.
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