5 U.S. Soldiers Killed by Bombs in Iraq; 852 in 2007 , highest toll since the wat began

November 6, 2007

5 U.S. Soldiers Killed by Bombs in Iraq

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 7:23 a.m. ET

BAGHDAD (AP) -- The U.S. military on Tuesday announced the deaths of five

more soldiers, making 2007 the deadliest year of the war for U.S. troops,

according to an Associated Press count.

Five U.S. soldiers were killed Monday in two separate roadside bomb attacks,

said Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, director of the Multi-National Force-Iraq's

communications division.

''We lost five soldiers yesterday in two unfortunate incidents, both

involving IEDs,'' Smith told reporters in Baghdad's heavily-guarded Green

Zone.

At least 852 American military personnel have died in Iraq so far this

year -- the highest annual toll since the war began in March 2003, according

to AP figures. Some 850 troops died in 2004.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information.

AP's earlier story is below.

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Five American soldiers were killed in two separate roadside

bomb attacks, the U.S. military said Tuesday, after Iraqi soldiers

discovered 22 bodies in a mass grave northwest of the capital.

The soldiers died Monday, said Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, director of the

Multi-National Force-Iraq's communications division.

''We lost five soldiers yesterday in two unfortunate incidents, both

involving IEDs,'' Smith told reporters in Baghdad's heavily-guarded Green

Zone.

The mass grave was found Saturday during a joint operation with U.S. forces

in the Lake Tharthar area, the U.S. military said in a statement.

Iraqi police last month reported finding 25 bullet-riddled bodies, some

decapitated, in a mass grave in Nadhum village, close to Lake Tharthar. At

the time, police said it appeared the victims had died within the past three

months.

But an Anbar provincial police official, Col. Jubair Rashid Naief, said

Tuesday that he believed these were not the same bodies and that this was a

second mass grave found in the area in less than a month.

Naief said the bodies were found in a drainage canal, and that some of the

victims were wearing heavy clothes -- indicating they may have been killed

last winter.

After the discovery, U.S. and Iraqi forces launched an operation Sunday,

including ground raids and air assaults targeting al-Qaida in the area, the

U.S. statement said.

About 30 suspects were detained, it said. Two car bomb facilities and a

number of weapons caches also were found, it added.

Iraqi officials are investigating the mass grave, trying to identify the

bodies and notify families.

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