Deadly week in Iraq takes lives of 30 Americans

BAGHDAD -- Roadside bombers killed seven U.S. troops Saturday, four of them in a single blast near Baghdad, and three other soldiers died of other causes -- raising to at least 30 the number of American soldiers killed last week.

Explosions aimed at U.S. patrols that kill several troops at once are common, but the recent frequency of such large-scale attacks may signal militants are using larger bombs or explosively formed penetrators (EFPs), as they fight back against a U.S. military operations.

The military staged counterattacks last week on roadside-bomb factories and insurgent strongholds where stockpiles of explosives have been uncovered.

U.S. forces acting on tips from Iraqi informants raided a safe house before dawn Saturday and detained three militants with suspected ties to Iran, the military said.

The operation in Sadr City, Baghdad's main Shiite enclave, was the latest raid on targets where militiamen are believed to have ties to Iran.

The U.S. claims Iran is arming Shiite militias and some Sunni insurgents with EFPs, which have killed hundreds of troops in recent months.

In the deadliest attack Saturday, four U.S. soldiers were killed and an Iraqi interpreter was wounded when a bomb blew up their vehicle northwest of Baghdad.

Roadside bombs also killed a U.S. airman in Tikrit and two U.S. soldiers in eastern Baghdad whose unit had recently targeted roadside bomb networks, the military said.

Another U.S. soldier was killed in a small-arms fire attack in southern Baghdad on Saturday, and two soldiers died Saturday of non-combat causes, the military said. In addition, a British soldier died Saturday of wounds from a roadside bombing a day earlier in the southern city of Basra.

Since last Sunday, two other roadside bombs have killed nine troops around Baghdad.

The U.S. military also cracked down elsewhere in Iraq, killing seven al-Qaida fighters and 10 suspects in Tikrit, in Mosul, east of Fallujah and south of Baghdad.

The military said in a statement that the raid in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown 80 miles north of Baghdad, had targeted a senior leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Two men were shot to death as they sped toward U.S. forces in a vehicle found to have a bomb on the back seat. Two others believed to have ties to a militant leader were detained, the military said.

At least 38 Iraqis were killed or found dead across Iraq, including 15 in Baghdad, who were shot to death after being tortured.

Meanwhile, Iraq's Parliament agreed to cut its summer holiday in half, and some observers said a deal had been reached on a law to share the country's oil wealth.

Both developments were small signs the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was creeping toward meeting White House demands to show political progress and stem sectarian violence that continues to claim Iraqi and U.S. lives.

Before the vote to extend its session, Parliament was scheduled to recess for July and August. Lawmakers denied that the decision to continue working through the end of July was due to U.S. pressure and said they were trying to make progress on legislation.

But some U.S. leaders, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, have visited Iraq recently to tell lawmakers they should not recess while the U.S. was in the midst of its troop buildup.

Although the apparent agreement on oil-revenue sharing is the first sign of tangible progress in months, Iraqis have announced agreements before, only to see legislation stall.

So there were no guarantees the deals struck Saturday will result in concrete measures.