BREAKING NEWS: 3 U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED NEAR BAGHDAD

Three US soldiers killed in Iraq
9 minutes ago

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080322/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestustoll_080322085410;_ylt=AhYu707Ve2W5s9rJ7_zAULZX6GMA

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The US military announced on Saturday the deaths of three soldiers, including two who were killed in a roadside bombing in Baghdad that also left two Iraqis dead.

The two were killed when their vehicle was struck while on patrol in Baghdad. The attack also wounded one soldier who was taken to a US medical facility for treatment, a statement said without giving further details.

The military had earlier reported the death on Friday of another soldier, who sustained injuries in a rocket or mortar attack south of Baghdad.

Four other soldiers were wounded in Friday's "indirect fire" attack, it said. The US military uses the term "indirect fire" to refer to rocket or mortar attacks.
The latest death brings the military's losses in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion to 3,995, according to an AFP tally based on independent website icasualties.org.

At least 97 percent of losses have occurred since US President George W. Bush announced the end of "major combat" in Iraq on May 1, 2003, as the military became caught between raging anti-American insurgency and brutal sectarian strife unleashed since the toppling of Saddam Hussein.

According to icasualties.org, 81.3 percent of the soldiers killed have died in attacks by Al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters, Sunni insurgent groups loyal to Saddam and radical Shiite militias.
The remainder died in non-combat related incidents.