Three U.S. troops were reported killed on Friday as Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Friday, urging Iraqis to participate in December elections.
Two American soldiers died after being hit by small-arms fire Thursday during "combat operations" in Khaldiyah, 75 miles west of Baghdad, the military said, according to the AP.
In another incident along the Syrian border, another Marine died Thursday by a roadside bomb in Karabilah, 200 miles west of Baghdad, another military statement said.
Elsewhere, three Iraqi police were killed Friday when their vehicle was ambushed near Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, officers at a regional command center said.
On Thursday, Iraqi troops along the Iranian border found 27 decomposing bodies, unidentified victims of suspected sectarian death squads.
U.S. occupationm forces reported a raid Thursday on a cell responsible for suicide bombings. Five men were detained and seven were killed, a US statement said.
