Two killed in attacks, two injured US soldiers die in Iraq (Roundup)

Nov 16, 2007, 13:02 GMT

Baghdad - At least two people were killed and five wounded, including policemen, in separate attacks in Maysan province and Baghdad, while two US soldiers were reportedly killed in Iraq, sources said Friday.

At least one was killed and four wounded when two explosive charges went off consecutively at a public market near a parking lot in central Baghdad, media reports said.

A number of houses at the site were damaged in the blast, reports added.

In Amarah, the capital of Maysan province, 390 kilometres south of Baghdad, gunmen shot dead a police officer and injured his brother as they were leaving their home on Friday, media reports said.

The police officer's son had earlier been kidnapped by a militant group and released after 45 days, independent Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency reported, citing a security source.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Defence announced Friday that two US soldiers were killed as a result of two separate attacks in Iraq.

A 22-year-old soldier died of wounds sustained in an attack by militants in Mosul, 400 kilometres north of Baghdad, while a 24-year- old soldier died in the US on Tuesday of injuries following a bomb attack in Baghdad on October 25.

About 3,867 US soldiers have been killed since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

In other developments on Friday, joint Iraqi-US forces detained 12 suspects, including three wanted men, in a dawn raid in south-west Kirkuk, VOI said citing a security source. The forces also seized weapons and ammunition, the source added.

In a related development, in a new security operation launched by Iraqi military and police forces in Diwaniyah province, 180 kilometres south of Baghdad, 12 suspects were arrested and several arms, ammunition and communication devices were seized, VOI reported citing a police source.

Several other security operations had earlier been launched in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities and provinces in a bid to eliminate militants, especially those belonging to the al-Qaeda terrorist network in Iraq.