Six US soldiers killed by roadside bombs in Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Six U.S. soldiers were killed on Monday
in two separate roadside bomb attacks on patrols in Iraq, the
military said in statements.

Four were killed in the area of the town of Yusufiya, just
south of Baghdad; it was one of the heaviest single U.S. losses
for some time. A statement gave no further details.

Two others died shortly after 9 a.m. (0600 GMT) near Balad,
60 km (40 miles) north of the capital, a second statement said.

Since early this year, U.S. commanders have been concerned
about the increasing use of more powerful or more sophisticated
improvised bombs capable of penetrating armoured vehicles and
inflicting much heavier casualties in each attack.

The southern fringes of the capital, sometimes referred to
as the Triangle of Death, have seen considerable violence by
Sunni Arab insurgents against neighbouring Shi’ite residents
and U.S. forces defending the Shi’ite-led government.

U.S. commanders say the area, criss-crossed by irrigation
canals, dirt roads and sheltering palm groves acts as a reserve
base for insurgents operating in Baghdad.

U.S. and Iraqi forces mounted intensive search operations
in south Baghdad on Friday and Saturday, the military said in
an earlier statement, arresting 49 suspects.

Balad, in the Tigris river valley near Samarra, is a
heartland of the Sunni insurgency.