A US marine was killed in the area around Najaf, the military said on Thursday. The marine was killed on Wednesday in Al-Najaf while "conducting security and stability operations," a statement said.
Another marine died in a road accident in the western province of Al-Anbar, it added, according to AFP.
Another US soldier was killed in the Baghdad. The US military dsclosed Thursday that the soldier was killed by small arms fire at around 6:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, there were mixed reactions to Wednesday's announcement by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr that he agreed to disarm his Mehdi Army and leave one of the country's holiest Islamic shrines after warnings of an assaultby government forces.
"Muqtada al-Sadr has accepted the initiative and we are waiting for its implementation," Hameed al-Kafaei, a government spokesman, told Al-Arabiya television.
The US, however, reacted cautiously. "I don't think we can trust al-Sadr," said Condoleezza Rice, President George W. Bush's national security adviser. "We have seen many, many times al-Sadr assume or say he is going to accept certain terms and then it turns out not to be the case."
"The important thing is that the Iraqi government has to run its country," Rice said on the Fox News Channel. "And they understand the threat from Sadr." (albawaba.com)
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