Five American troops and one Iraqi civilian were wounded in a car blast north of Baghdad, the US Army said Tuesday. The six were traveling in a Humvee on Monday near Hawija, some 230 kms north of Baghdad, when the explosion occurred, the military said, according to the AP.
Also Monday, U.S. Marines seized several weapons caches in and near the city of Al Amirya, southeast of Baghdad, during clearing operations, the military said
The caches included mortar shells, RPG rounds and five rocket launchers. It also said that five Iraqis were detained for questioning at different locations in Iraq Monday.
Meanwhile, US President George Bush threatened once again to use new economic and diplomatic measures to pressure Syria over what he called as its interference in Iraq before January elections.
"We have sent messages to the Syrians in the past and we will continue to do so. We have tools at our disposal - a variety of tools, ranging from diplomatic tools to economic pressure. Nothing's taken off the table," Bush told a news conference.
He said he had discussed with American generals "whether or not there are former Saddam loyalists in Syria ... funnelling money to the insurgents".
"We ought to be working with the Syrian government to prevent them from either sending money and/or support of any kind," Bush added.
