Two US soldiers were killed and one wounded when a military vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in Fallujah. "Two were killed in action and one wounded when a military vehicle struck an improvised explosive device at 8:30 am," a military spokeswoman said Saturday. A US army captain in Fallujah earlier told AFP the vehicle was a Bradley. The heavily armored personnel carrier differs only slightly from a tank. The destruction of the Bradley would mark the second time since US troops invaded Iraq that insurgents have ripped apart US armor with their explosives. **Show of Force in Tikrit: US Takes Revenge for Deadly Copter Attack*** US troops have swept through Iraqi neighbourhoods in Tikrit, targeting houses suspected of being insurgent hideouts with machine guns and heavy weapons. The show of force included the dropping of at least three 500-pound bombs. One commander said it was to remind the town that the US has "teeth and clawsand is prepared to use them." The raid was retaliation for Friday's attack on a helicopter which crashed, killing all six people on board. It was the third chopper to be shot down in two weeks. US defence officials say pilots are changing their tactics to make themselves less vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated and daring surface-to-air attacks. Evasive techniques include varying routes and schedules and sometimes flying very low and fast to foil insurgents. Tikrit is Saddam Hussein's hometown and a focal point of resistance against the US-led occupation. Faced with a rising tide of attacks, Washington has voiced regret that its ally Turkey will not be deploying troops in Iraq. Ankara had previously approved a possible deployment but public opinion is strongly against involvement. **Red Cross Closes Two Iraq Offices*** The International Committee of the Red Cross is temporarily closing its offices in Baghdad and the southern Iraqi city of Basra, a spokesman says. Florian Westphal said the ICRC was concerned for the safety of its staff in what he described as an extremely dangerous and volatile situation. **PHOTO CAPTION*** A US soldier covers the body of a comrade who was killed following an explosion in Iraq. (AFP/File/Marwan Naamani)