Mosul Convoy Strike Kills US Soldier

08/12/2003| IslamWeb

At least one US soldier has been killed in an attack in the north of Iraq. The homemade bomb was detonated as a military convoy passed through the city of Mosul on Sunday. Sergeant Kelly Tyler of the 101st Airborne Division confirmed the death, adding that two other American soldiers were also injured in the blast. Elsewhere, a 12-year-old Iraqi was killed by a bomb that had been disguised as a heap of rubbish, southeast of Baghdad, according to occupation forces. The bomb exploded near the Iskandariya suburb on Saturday. The child's body has been handed over to Iraqi police. On Friday, four Iraqi civilians were also killed and a dozen wounded when resistance fighters detonated a bomb in a crowded Baghdad shopping street when a US convoy passed, also killing a soldier. An occupation administration statement said the attack was another example of Iraqi civilians becoming "targets... in an effort by anti-coalition forces to prevent establishing a safe and free Iraq." But when questioned about the civilian toll from that attack, one resistance fighter - calling himself Abu Muhammad - told AFP: "It's true Iraqi deaths hurt us but it is a question of priorities." **Iraq attacks 'likely to increase'*** A top US military commander in Iraq has said he expects more attacks as the US prepares to hand over power to Iraqis. "We expect to see an increase in violence as we move toward sovereignty at the end of June," General Ricardo Sanchez told reporters on Sunday. He added the hunt for Saddam Hussein was continuing, but that it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. General Sanchez said the number of military engagements was down to less than 20 a day, compared to almost 40 a day in early November. In November, the Americans suffered their worst monthly toll of casualties since major combat was declared over on 1 May, losing 79 soldiers mostly in resistant attacks. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Sanchez: We haven't found the right haystack yet