Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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January 28, 2008

Roadside Bomb in Iraq Kills 5 US Soldiers
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B12741:A6F02AD83191E160EA2FE50B3CA44481A13B8D4F2090AB2B& Details of attack
sketchy but US military says forces have secured area in mosul where
incident took place



A roadside bomb has killed five American soldiers in northern Iraq.

Details are sketchy, but the U.S. military says U.S. and Iraqi forces
have since secured the area in Mosul, in Ninevah province, where the
attack took place.

Last week, a massive house explosion followed by a suicide attack left
at least 40 people dead in Mosul, which U.S. commanders describe as
the last major urban stronghold with a large presence of al-Qaida in
Iraq forces.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has said that Iraqi forces are
preparing for a "decisive" offensive against al-Qaida in Iraq.

On Sunday, Iraqi tanks and helicopters reportedly began arriving in
Mosul with troop reinforcements.

Separately, U.S. troops have detained 18 suspected al-Qaida in Iraq
militants in two days of anti-terrorist operations that ended Monday,
in Baghdad.

Earlier, a large fire badly damaged the Iraqi central bank building in
downtown Baghdad.

Firefighters managed to extinguish the flames after several hours. No
casualties were reported. The cause of the blaze is unknown.



Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.






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