Iraq Booby-Trap Blast Kills 6 US Troops

Nine dead in first two days of new offensive against al-Qaeda strongholds
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 10, 2008 5:00 AM CST
Iraq Booby-Trap Blast Kills 6 US Troops
A U.S. army soldier from Blackfoot Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment takes a nap as his unit overwatches enemy positions on a rooftop during the initial phase of Operation Raider Harvest in the village of Sinsil on the northern outskirts of Muqdadiyah, in the volatile Diyala province, about...   (Associated Press)

Six US soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter were killed when a booby-trapped house in Diyala province exploded, the Washington Post reports. Four others were injured. Another three soldiers were killed Tuesday as tens of thousands of US and Iraqi troops, along with many local volunteers, began sweeping through northern Iraq in a bid to wipe out al-Qaeda's remaining sanctuaries.

Success in combatting insurgents in Baghdad and Anbar province means that many militants have fled to other provinces, especially Diyala. Operation Phantom Phoenix intends to flush them out of these strongholds. As troops move in to regain control, they have encountered less resistance than expected, but militants fleeing the advance have left behind deadly traps. (More Iraq stories.)

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