Mortar shells, car bomb kill 5 U.S. troops; 20 wounded

By Patrick J. McDonnell and Carol J. Williams
Los Angeles Times

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The strike was the deadliest attack on U.S. forces since Iraq regained a measure of self-governance June 28. It brought to 18 the number of U.S. troops reported dead in Iraq this month. Two Iraqi National Guardsmen also were killed.

After the bombardment, American troops — backed by attack helicopters — fanned out through the city to hunt down the attackers in clashes that lasted into the late afternoon. Tanks deployed in the streets; smoke rose above a mosque.

The attack followed two weeks of sporadic shelling and gunplay in the Sunni Muslim town, according to the spokesman, Maj. Neal O'Brien. A resident of the city, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said "everyone was expecting the attack" after scores of arrests of suspected government opponents a week ago.

The violence also killed three civilians, medical officials said. As many as 44 people were wounded, including 20 American soldiers and four Iraqi guardsmen, the military and hospital officials said.

The violence came a day after Iraq unveiled emergency laws giving the government broad powers to fight the insurgency.

Americans make up most of the nearly 160,000 foreign troops here, but they gradually have been handing over security responsibilities to Iraqi security forces — and working closely with them. Iraqi troops lack the equipment and training to handle the task of crushing the insurgency.

Samarra, a largely Sunni Muslim city 60 miles north of Baghdad, has long been a hotbed of armed resistance against U.S. and allied forces. The Army's 4th Infantry Division moved its base out of town last year after almost daily mortar attacks culminated in a strike that killed two soldiers. The division mounted a major offensive to root out insurgents, but attacks on U.S. troops and their Iraqi allies have persisted.

On July 1, the Army turned over control of its civil-military operations center in Samarra to the local government. U.S. forces have continued to patrol inside the city, often with Iraqi troops. Commanders say the security arrangement is different from one in the western city of Fallujah, which has become a no-go zone for Marines. Samarra has long been a hostile zone for U.S. forces. Among its residents are members of two large tribes that remain largely loyal to deposed President Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party.

Another tribe in the city, the Albu Nisan, initially welcomed U.S. forces. But after some members got involved in weapons dealing and were killed by U.S. forces, the tribe turned against the occupation, said a local resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A spate of kidnappings continued to grip Iraq yesterday. In videotape broadcast on Arabic-language Al-Jazeera satellite television, militants threatened to kill two Bulgarian hostages whom they claimed to have seized. Al-Jazeera said the tape had come from the Tawhid and Jihad group, headed by Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab Zarqawi.
 
The tape showed two men, identified as Bulgarians, sitting in front of their captors. It said the men would be killed within 24 hours unless U.S. forces released imprisoned militants.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday ordered a halt on travel to Iraq by Filipinos after videotape on Al-Jazeera showed a Filipino hostage at the feet of three masked gunmen.

A previously unknown group calling itself the Iraqi Islamic Army-Khaled ibn Waleed Corps claimed to be holding the hostage, who was shown wearing an orange jumpsuit similar to those worn by previous captives of a militant group allegedly led by Zarqawi. The gunmen demanded that Arroyo's government withdraw its troops from Iraq within three days, or the hostage, whose name was not given, would be killed. The group claimed to have slain an Iraqi guard accompanying the hostage.

The Philippines has contributed 51 of the 160,000-strong multinational force in Iraq, but more than 4,000 Filipinos work in civilian jobs providing services to the force.

In Baghdad, a former senior official of ousted leader Saddam Hussein's Baath Party died in an explosion outside a textile plant. The blast appeared to have been caused by a bomb rigged to his car. Police said they had little information on the death of the man, identified as Ali Abbas Hassan. Many ex-Baathists have been targeted for assassination since the regime fell last year.

Material from The Associated Press and The Washington Post is included in this report.