5 US SOLDIERS, 81 IRAQIS KILLED: 31 US SOLDIERS, 126 IRAQIS WOUNDED ON EVE OF GEN. PETRAEUS APPEARING BEFORE CONGRESS

At least five American soldiers were killed and another 31 were wounded in three separate attacks in Iraq today. Iraqis did not fare any better, with 81 Iraqis killed and 126 more wounded as well. Clashes in Baghdad were the cause of mose of the casualties. Also, 42 college students were kidnapped then released near Mosul.

All of this happened just just before General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker appear before the Senate Foreign Relations committee on Tuesday to tell members of Congress about how well things are going in Iraq.

Sunday: 5 US Soldiers, 81 Iraqis Killed; 31 US Soldiers, 126 Iraqis Wounded Updated at 9:40 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2008

http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=12639

Two U.S. soldiers were killed and 17 more were wounded during a rocket or mortar attack on the Green Zone in Baghdad. In the southeastern neighborhood of Rustimiyah, another attack left one GI dead and 14 more injured. One American soldier was killed today during a roadside bombing in Diyala province. Also, one American soldier died from a non-combat incident.
Clashes between gunmen, U.S. forces, and Iraqi security in the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City left 25 dead and 98 wounded. A helicopter strike caused nine more deaths. The U.S. army had been staging operations near Sadr City in hopes of reducing rocket and mortar attacks on the international Green Zone. These attacks escalated after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki implemented a crackdown on the Mahdi Army ahead of elections. In a separate event, mortars injured two policemen.
In Baghdad, three Iraqi soldiers were injured in an roadside bomb attack in Zayouna. Mortars killed one civilian and wounded four others on Palestine Street; another shell injured two more. In Karradat Mariam, a shell injured five people. Mortars hit several more locations without creating casualties. Five dumped bodies were discovered.
Near Mosul, 42 kidnapped college students were released after gunmen determined they were not part of a security force. Their bus had been stopped at a fake checkpoint on a highway leading to Baghdad. A second bus sped away from the fake checkpoint. Gunmen fired at it, wounding three students.
A mass grave near Muqdadiyah has now produced 15 bodies.
Al-Qaeda suspects killed seven members of an Awakening Council (Sahwa) in Samarra.
In Buhriz, one person was killed and four others were wounded during a roadside bombing.
A female body bearing gunshot wounds was found near Kirkuk. Two bombs left no casualties.
Seven linemen were kidnapped as they were repairing powerlines in Yathrib.
In Hilla, gunmen set a Sadrist office on fire, but no casualties were reported.
The Iraqi army killed 17 suspects and detained 51 others across Iraq.
Four al-Qaeda suspects were arrested in Bani Saad.
A person was kidnapped in Hawija.
A roadside bomb blasted at truck in Baiji.
In Tikrit, seven people were wounded by a roadside bomb.