Suicide Bomber Kills US Soldier, Wounds 18 Others in Northern Iraq

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08 June 2008 -- U.S. and Iraqi officials say a suicide truck bomber has killed an American soldier and wounded 18 others at a military base in northern Iraq.

The bomber blew up his vehicle Sunday near the patrol base in the town of Rashad in Kirkuk province. Two Iraqi contractors also were wounded in the attack. Gunmen killed three U.S. soldiers in the same province last Wednesday.

Iraqi officials say attacks elsewhere in the country killed at least 12 Iraqis on Sunday. In one incident, five shepherds were shot dead east of the capital, Baghdad.

In another incident, a bomb exploded outside a police center in western Baghdad, killing four police recruits and wounding 23 other people.

Also, a mortar shell landed just outside Baghdad's "Green Zone" government compound, killing three Iraqi civilians and wounding seven others.

Officials say the mortar apparently was aimed at the defense ministry, but fell short.

Separately, the U.S. military says an American soldier was killed Saturday in eastern Baghdad when a roadside bomb struck his vehicle.

And, Iraqi police say they broke up an al-Qaida terrorist cell in the western town of Hit, confiscating 50 explosive belts prepared for suicide attacks.

Source: VOA News