3 U.S. Soldiers, Interpreter Killed in Iraq

Feb. 23, 2009

BAGHDAD — Three U.S. soldiers and an interpreter were killed Monday during fighting north of Baghdad, the military said.

The four deaths occurred during combat in Diyala province, an area northeast of Baghdad that continues to be volatile despite an overall drop in violence nationwide.

The attack came two weeks after a suicide car bomber struck a U.S. patrol in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing four American soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter in the deadliest single attack against U.S. forces in nine months.

At least 4,250 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. …

President Barack Obama, who campaigned on a promise to end the war in Iraq, is expected to announce further troop withdrawals in the coming weeks after his recent announcement that he is sending thousands more combat forces to Afghanistan. …

[In other violence reported Monday], gunmen ambushed an Iraqi army checkpoint Monday in western Baghdad, killing three soldiers and wounding eight other people, according to police.

Also Monday, a roadside bombing apparently targeting a police patrol in central Baghdad killed at least two civilians and wounded six, said police and hospital officials. …

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Security Developments in Iraq

Following are security developments in Iraq on Feb. 23, 2009, as reported by Reuters:

TIKRIT – Three U.S. soldiers and their interpreter died as a result of combat operations in Diyala province, the U.S. military said. It gave no further details.

MASHRU’ – A car bomb killed one person and wounded another in the village of Mashru’, about 40 miles south of Baghdad, police said.

JURF AL-SAKHAR – Police found the body of a leader of a neighborhood guard unit in Jurf al-Sakhar, about 40 miles south of Baghdad, police said. The man had been handcuffed and shot in the head.

BAGHDAD – Two soldiers and one civilian were killed and four people were wounded when gunmen opened fire on a checkpoint in the Ghaziliya neighborhood of western Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD – Two people were killed and six wounded, including two policemen, when a bomb blew up as a police convoy was passing the Agriculture Ministry in the center of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD – Seven people were wounded, including three policemen, when a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in the district of Karrada in Baghdad, police said.

Following are security developments in Iraq on Feb. 22, 2009, as reported by Reuters:

MOSUL – Two Iraqi soldiers were killed and two were wounded in a roadside bomb explosion in western Mosul, 240 miles north of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD – Four people were wounded by a roadside bomb in the Bayaa neighborhood of Baghdad, police said.

BAAJ – An explosion killed five Iraqi soldiers late on Saturday as they entered a deserted home in the town of Baaj, 235 miles northwest of Baghdad, police said.

MOSUL – Five Iraqi soldiers were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in southern Mosul, police said.

MOSUL – A woman was wounded in central Mosul when gunmen threw several grenades at a police patrol.

SAMARRA – A bomb attached to a vehicle wounded a neighborhood guard leader in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, police said.

TIKRIT – The head of a local office of the Sunni Arab Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) was targeted by a roadside bomb in central Tikrit, 100 miles north of Baghdad, police and the IIP said. Both Jamal Shaiban and his driver were lightly wounded.

BAGHDAD – Two coordinated roadside bombs wounded four people on Saturday in the Mansour district of western Baghdad, police said.

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U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq

As of Monday, Feb. 23, 2009, at least 4,250 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Latest deaths:

Three soldiers were killed Feb. 23, 2009 during combat operations in Diyala province.

Latest identification:

Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Mark C. Baum, 32, Telford, Pa., died Feb. 21, 2009 in Baghdad of wounds from small-arms fire in Mushada. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Baum, a corrections officer at Bucks County Prison, reportedly had done tours in Kosovo, Sinai, and Iraq. He leaves behind his wife Heather and three young children — Alexis, 6, Kailey, 3, and 7-month-old Conrad.

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