Baghdad - The number of United States military deaths in Iraq has passed 1 500, an Associated Press count showed on Thursday as the military announced that one of its troops had been killed in action south of the capital.
The latest deaths brought to at least 1 502 the number of members of the US military who have died since the US-led war in Iraq began in March 2003.
The military said two US troops had died in Baghdad on Wednesday of injuries suffered when a roadside bomb blasted their vehicle. Another soldier was killed the same day in Babil province, part of an area known as the "Triangle of Death" because of the frequency of insurgent attacks on US- and Iraqi-led forces there.
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Since May 1, 2003, when US President George Bush declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended, 1 362 US military members have died, at least 1 030 of them as a result of hostile action, according to the military's figures.
| Officials at nearby al-Kindi hospital said 15 people were injured in the blasts |
In eastern Baghdad, two suicide car bombs exploded outside the interior ministry, killing at least five police officers and wounding several others, police major Jabar Hassan said.
Officials at nearby al-Kindi hospital said 15 people were injured in the blasts.
Another car bomb targeting a police convoy exploded in Baqouba, 60km north-east of the capital. One civilian was killed and three injured, said Hussein Ali of Baqouba hospital.
Also in the north, insurgents blew up a gas pipeline that links Kirkuk to Dibis, about 30km away, said Col Nozad Mohammad, a state oil security official in Kirkuk.
Amid the violence, interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi extended the state of emergency, first announced nearly four months ago, for another 30 days until the end of March. The order remains in effect throughout the country, except in northern Kurdish-run areas.
Meanwhile, talks aimed at forging a new coalition government have faltered over Kurdish demands for more land and their concerns that the dominant Shi'a alliance seeks to establish an Islamic state, delaying the planned first meeting of Iraq's new parliament.
Shi'a and Kurdish leaders failed to reach an agreement after negotiations in the northern city of Irbil with the clergy-backed candidate for prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, leaving with only half the deal he needed. Politicians had hoped to convene the new parliament by Sunday, but said this had been postponed. - Sapa-AP
- This article was originally published on page 7 of The Mercury on March 04, 2005
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