US, Iraqi troops battle dozens of insurgents

BAGHDAD - US and Iraqi forces battled dozens of insurgents in a remote area east of Baghdad and three soldiers, two American and one Iraqi, were killed in the fighting, the US military said late yesterday.

The battle erupted when two Iraqi army battalions were carrying out a "cordon and search operation" in eastern Diyala province, it said in a statement.

"The mission to search for weapons cache sites in the area uncovered dozens of terrorists and a firefight ensued."

US troops moved in to back the Iraqi forces, and called in air support. The American military said the area was still being searched.

Recent weeks have seen a number of large-scale engagements between US troops and guerrillas - an unusual development as insurgents generally favour hit-and-run attacks.

On Saturday, more than 40 US soldiers and 12 prisoners were wounded when insurgents attacked Abu Ghraib jail west of Baghdad with suicide bombs, mortars and small-arms fire. The battle raged for around an hour.

Last month scores of guerrillas attacked a US convoy near Salman Pak southeast of Baghdad. The US military said it repelled the attack and killed at least two dozen insurgents.

A US Marine was killed in a blast in western Iraq on Monday, the military said. Along with the two US deaths east of Baghdad, that took the American military and Pentagon death toll in Iraq to at least 1,538 since the start of the war.

On Tuesday, a roadside bomb in Salman Pak killed four civilians and a roadside bomb in the southern city of Basra killed two policemen, police said.

In Baghdad, a suspected suicide car bomb exploded beside a US convoy. The American military had no word on casualties but a helicopter was seen evacuating wounded from the scene.

A car bomb in southwestern Baghdad near the airport killed one Iraqi civilian and wounded two.

Late on Monday, Brigadier General Jalal Mohammed Saleh, the commander of a special armoured unit of the Iraqi army, was kidnapped in Baghdad, police said. Insurgents have kidnapped several leading Iraqi officials and military officers, and often kill them and post footage of their deaths on the internet.

Iraqi security officials say the delay in forming a new government has benefited insurgents trying to sow chaos in Iraq.

More than nine weeks after millions of Iraqis defied suicide bombers and insurgent threats to vote in the historic January 30 polls, politicians are still arguing over cabinet posts.

Leaders of the main political blocs said Iraq's new president, two vice presidents and prime minister would be announced on Wednesday at a meeting of parliament.

Under a deal between the Islamist-led Shi'ite alliance that won a slim majority in parliament and the Kurdish coalition that came second in the polls, veteran Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani will be named president and Shi'ite politician Ibrahim Jaafari will become prime minister.

Adel Abdul Mahdi, another Shi'ite, is expected to be named as one of the vice presidents, and politicians want to appoint a Sunni Arab as the other so as to include the minority that dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein but which won just 17 of parliament's 275 seats in the polls.

Many Sunni Arabs were afraid to vote or boycotted the elections, but other factions want to ensure they are given key government posts to try to undermine support for the insurgency, which is being fought mainly by Sunni Arab guerrillas.

There are three Sunni Arab candidates for the vice presidency - current President Ghazi al-Yawar, elder statesman Adnan Pachachi and monarchist Sharif Ali bin al-Hussein.

Politicians had hoped to reach a deal on Tuesday on which of them will be chosen, paving the way for key government posts to be announced on Wednesday. Once a prime minister is chosen he has two weeks to name a cabinet.

Officials say key disagreements remain on some government posts, particularly the economically crucial oil ministry which is coveted by both the Shi'ites and the Kurds.

- REUTERS