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Roadside bomb in Iraq kills 4 U.S. soldiers, bringing death toll to 4,000


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Roadside bomb in Iraq kills 4 U.S. soldiers, bringing death toll to 4,000

BY RICHARD SISK in Washington and BILL HUTCHINSON in New York

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

March 24th 2008

 

[float=right]amd_funeral.jpg

Khuzaie/Getty

American soldiers attend a somber Easter

sunrise service at Baghdad's Camp Liberty

Sunday.[/float]The overall American death toll of the Iraq war hit 4,000 Sunday night when a roadside bomb exploded near Baghdad, killing four soldiers on patrol, Pentagon officials said.

 

The grim milestone came just four days after President Bush commemorated the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion by saying, "America can and must win."

 

Details of the latest deaths were sketchy, but Pentagon officials said the four U.S. soldiers were killed when a makeshift bomb struck their convoy as they conducted night patrols in southern Baghdad. The attack happened about 10p.m. Iraqi time.

 

"For us, it's no more or less important than the toll of 3,000, or any other milestone," an Army spokesman in Baghdad told the Daily News last night.

 

"All of these soldiers, all who have served here, had made sacrifices for the Iraqi people," he said. "Absolutely, the mission continues."

 

The names of the soldiers killed last night were not immediately released. Pentagon officials said they were part of a multinational division.

 

[float=right]amd_soldieriraq.jpg

Mizban/AP

A US soldier stands guard in the area where

a suicide car bomber detonated his load in

Shula, Baghdad, Iraq.

[/float]The bloody benchmark was reached on a particularly violent day as at least 57 people were killed in attacks throughout Iraq and rockets rained down on Baghdad's heavily fortified "Green Zone."

 

The 4,000 death toll figure includes eight civilians who worked for the Defense Department, according to The Associated Press.

 

The latest deaths boost the number of U.S. troops killed this month to 27.

 

As of last night, 87 American soldiers have been killed fighting in Iraq this year.

 

At sunrise Sunday, U.S. troops in Baghdad's Green Zone were warned over loudspeakers to "duck and cover" as insurgents launched rockets and mortars into the heavily protected area.

 

At least five people inside the Green Zone were injured, and about 17 people just outside the area were killed, officials said.

 

Scattered attacks continued throughout the day in the Iraqi capital and elsewhere. The most bloodshed occurred in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, where a suicide driver sped through a security checkpoint and detonated a car loaded with explosives in front of an Iraqi headquarters building. The blast killed 13 Iraqi soldiers and injured 42 people, police said. Iraqi soldiers opened fire on the approaching car, but could not prevent the attack.

 

Officials said at least two other car bombs went off in Baghdad, killing nearly 20 civilians, and extremists gunned down seven men at a bus stop in a predominantly Shiite area of southeastern Baghdad.

 

The escalating violence comes as Army Gen. David Petraeus, the coalition commander in Iraq, prepares to give a progress report next month on the U.S. troop surge.

 

Both President Bush and Vice President Cheney boasted on the anniversary of the war that the surge of 30,000 additional U.S. troops in Iraq had lowered the monthly death toll significantly from early 2007. With News Wire Services.

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There was an interview with Cheney about this story and he went on saying "it was difficult decision that our President made". He forgot to mention that he and Rumsfeld had a strong influence with the decision to invade Iraq.

 

I care not to hear anything else Bush or Cheney has to say. The are both dirty snakes, and whenever I hear either of their voices I instantly get an attitude. I just continue to pray for all who are deployed as well as their families. Bush and Cheney may have gotten away with lying to us, but God knows and sees all! I just have to thank God that my best friends wife's tour ends next week, and thank all the brave souls who defend a lost cause. Que se bendiga Dios!!

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