2 U.S. Soldiers Killed, 4 Hurt in Iraq Blast
TIKRIT, Iraq — A roadside bomb killed two American soldiers and wounded four early today, Army Capt. Tim Crowe said.
The soldiers were patrolling in downtown Tikrit, north of Baghdad, in an armored Humvee when the bomb exploded, Crowe said.
The blast destroyed the vehicle. Crowe said small-arms fire erupted in the area shortly before the explosion, possibly to distract the soldiers.
The casualties bring the U.S. death toll in Iraq to 558 since the war began.
The wounded soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital north of Tikrit. It was not clear how serious their injuries were.
After the attack, about 50 soldiers fanned out across the city searching for evidence and asking for information.
The soldiers were with the Army’s 1st Infantry Division’s 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, which took over security in the Tikrit area today.
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