Three American troops were killed in Iraq, including one killed by a roadside bomb explosion and another after being shot, the U.S. military command said in a statement Tuesday.
Two soldiers died on Sunday afternoon. One died after being hit by small-arms fire in north-central Baghdad, while the other died after his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in the northeastern part of the capital, the military command said, according to the AP.
A third soldier died in the capital from non-battle-related injuries, the military command said in a separate statement.
Also Tuesday, a car bomb exploded near a gas station in Baghdad, killing two civilians and injuring another 25, and police recovered the blindfolded bodies of three people from eastern parts of the city.
To the north, Iraqi television journalist Ahmed Riyadh al-Karbouli, 25, was killed over the weekend in the volatile city of Ramadi, west of the capital, the Baghdad TV station for which he worked said Tuesday.
Saddam trial
Meanwhile, the chief judge in Saddam Hussein's genocide trial was replaced Tuesday amid complaints from Shiite and Kurdish officials that he was too soft on the former Iraqi president.
The government spokesman's office announced that judge Abdullah al-Amiri was removed. He was replaced on the five-member panel by Mohammed al-Uraibiy, who was his deputy in the trial, said a court source, according to the AP. Al-Uraibiy is a Shiite, the source added.
The Arab satellite stations Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera said al-Amiri was removed after a request from Iraq's prime minister.
Hussein al-Duri, an aide to the prime minister, said one reason was al-Amiri's comments last week in a court session, in which the judge told Saddam, "You were not a dictator." "The head of the court is requested to run and control the session, and he is not allowed to violate judicial regulations, " al-Duri told Al-Arabiya television. "It is not allowed for the judge to express his opinion."
Earlier, a Kurdish security officer testifying Tuesday in Saddam Hussein's genocide trial showed the court body burns he allegedly received when Iraqi forces attacked his northern village in March 1988. "A squadron of planes hovered in the sky. They began bombing the area and the bombs were two types," said Maj. Iskandar Mahmoud Abdul-Rahman, 41.
"We took the floor; white smoke covered us, it smelled awful," said the man. He said after several minutes, he escaped to another area where his health worsened. "My heart beat increased. I started to vomit. I felt dizzy. My eyes burned and I couldn't stand on my feet," he added.
The witness said he was moved to two hospitals in Iran for treatment.
Saddam sat silently, taking notes. The court later adjourned until Wednesday.
