U.S. soldiers watch as a plume of smoke
rises from an air-strike they ordered to destroy a desert cave complex
used by insurgents in Diyala Province. The death toll of US soldiers in
the five-year Iraq conflict has hit 4,000 in what the US military said
Monday was a "tragic" loss of lives after four troops were killed in a
Baghdad bombing. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Four U.S. soldiers
died Sunday night in a roadside bombing in Iraq, bringing the American toll in
the five-year war to 4,000.
The four were killed when a homemade bomb hit their
vehicle as they patrolled a southern Baghdad neighborhood, the U.S. military
said Monday.
A fifth soldier was wounded.
The grim milestone comes less than a week after the
fifth anniversary of the U.S-led invasion of Iraq.
Of the 4,000 U.S. military personnel killed in the
conflict, 3,263 have died in combat and attacks, and 737 in non-hostile
incidents, such as traffic accidents and suicides.
Eight of the killed were civilians working for the Pentagon.
File photo taken on May 26, 2007 shows flowers and a birthday balloon laid in front of headstones of soldiers who died in war, at the 60th section of Arlington National Cemetery of Virginia State, the United States. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Also Sunday, at least 35 Iraqis died in suicide
bombings, mortar fire and when gunmen in cars opened fire in a crowded outdoor
market.
Nearly 100 were wounded in the violence.
Estimates of the Iraqi death toll since the war began
range from about 80,000 to hundreds of thousands.
Another 2 million Iraqis have been forced to leave
the country, and 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes within Iraq,
according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Nearly 160,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, continuing
to wage a war that has cost U.S. taxpayers about 500 billion U.S. dollars.
U.S. soldiers inspect the scene of a
rocket attack in Baghdad March 23, 2008.(Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
U.S. soldiers patrol in Diyala Province, northeast of Baghdad. The death toll of US soldiers in the five-year Iraq conflict has hit 4,000 in what the US military said Monday was a "tragic" loss of lives after four troops were killed in a Baghdad bombing.(Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, March 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W.
Bush has expressed grief for American lives lost in the Iraq war, as the U.S.
military death toll in the five-year conflict hit 4,000.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Monday that
Bush "spends time everyday thinking about those who've lost their lives on the
battlefield." Full story
WASHINGTON, March 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W.
Bush will likely decide within this week whether to withdraw more troops from
Iraq beyond his planned draw down after the troop "surge" ends this summer, his
spokeswoman said Monday.
Bush will discuss the issue with Gen. David Petraeus,
the top U.S. general in Iraq and U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker in a
video-conference later in the day, Dana Perino, the White House press secretary,
told media. Full story
U.S. soldiers walk in the town of
Yousifiya in south Baghdad during a joint patrol with Iraqi forces Mar.
11, 2008. Up to four U.S. soldiers have been killed in central Iraq during
the past 24 hours, the U.S. military said on
Saturday.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
BAGHDAD, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Up to four U.S.
soldiers have been killed in central Iraq during the past 24 hours, the U.S.
military said on Saturday.
Two U.S. soldiers and two Iraqi civilians were killed
by a roadside bomb explosion near the soldiers' patrol in southwest of Baghdad
on Saturday, a military statement said, adding that a third soldier was wounded
by the attack. Full story
Iraq War demonstrators, wearing masks,
march in front of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 19,
2008, to mark the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq.(Xinhua
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
LOS ANGELES, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of protesters
took to the streets in San Francisco on Wednesday to mark the fifth anniversary
of the start of the Iraq war.
The protests took place at several downtown locations,
with reported brief clashes between demonstrators and police, witnesses said. Full story
U.S. President George W. Bush defended
on Wednesday the Iraq war as a "right decision" at the pentagon despite a
high cost as thousands of Americans staged anti-war demonstrations across
the nation to mark the war's fifth anniversary. (Xinhua
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, March 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W.
Bush defended on Wednesday the Iraq war as a "right decision" despite a high
cost as thousands of Americans staged anti-war demonstrations across the nation
to mark the war's fifth anniversary.
"Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right
decision, and this is a fight America can and must win," Bush said during a
speech at the Pentagon. Full
story
