Four American soldiers died after their Humvee rolled over during a combat patrol north of Baghdad, the US military said Tuesday.
The soldiers, from the 1st Infantry Division, died from injuries sustained when their vehicle rolled over Monday night during a patrol near Khalis, some 60 kilometers north of Baghdad, the military said in a statement.
The deaths raised the US death toll to 157 since a wave of violence began on April 1. At least 759 US troops have died in Iraq since the war began in March 2003.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr warned that his supporters would attack any US military checkpoint between Najaf and Kufa further north, saying the Americans provoked clashes Monday that killed five Iraqis and injured 20.
"We consider any checkpoint an offensive move and as far as we are concerned there are no barriers between Kufa and Najaf," Sheikh Ahmed al-Shaibani told AFP.
According to him, American occupation troops at a base in Najaf provoked Monday's clashes by firing at a pickup truck transporting fighters from Sadr's Mehdi Army from Najaf to Kufa on a back street in the city's industrial zone.
Shaibani said this attack on Sadr's men prompted them to fire mortars on the base and the checkpoint which was set up on the main road outside the base. "America is responsible for the blood of innocent Iraqis," commented Shaibani.
In the meantime, a multinational force base near Najaf came under mortar fire overnight, but no soldiers were injured, a spokesman for the Polish-led force said Tuesday.
The base that was attacked has been under Spanish control,
but with Madrid's withdrawal it was not immediately clear
who was in command there.
In another incident, a water purification plant near
Diwanyiah was attacked by small arms fire. An occupation
patrol and Iraqi civil defense soldiers returned fire and
forced the attackers to flee, multinational force spokesman
Maj. Slawomir Walenczykowski said.
In a separate development, Australia sent 86 troops to Baghdad on Tuesday to replace forces providing security to
the Australian diplomatic mission in Iraq.
"These troops will be providing security protection for
the Australian representative mission in Baghdad and
throughout Iraq," Defense Minister Robert Hill said in a
statement. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
