Three U.S. Soldiers, Baghdad’s Deputy Mayor Killed

The spokesman said a U.S. convoy was attacked by unknown armed men in northern Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding another, giving no further details.

He added that the two U.S. soldiers have been also killed and another injured when their convoy came under an attack that also destroyed an army vehicle at Abu-Ghuraib.

Two U.S. soldiers were also killed overnight when their Abrams tank was struck by a landmine or a roadside bomb during a patrol near Balad, 45 miles north of Baghdad, Aljazeera quoted Maj. Josslyn Aberle, a spokeswoman for the 4th Infantry Division, as saying.

Before today’s U.S. fatalities, Aljazeera put at 116 the number of U.S. soldiers killed since May 1, when U.S. President George W. Bush declared "major combat" effectively over in Iraq.

The U.S. fatalities came as unknown gunmen opened fire at Baghdad’s Assistant Mayor Farish Issam outside his house and immediately vanished, eyewitnesses said without giving further details.

Spiral Of Attacks

Meanwhile, the buildings of Baghdad University on the eastern bank of Tigris came under three rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) early Wednesday, eyewitnesses told IOL.

A palace of ousted president Saddam Hussein in Fallujah, now a headquarters of the American forces, had come under an RPG attack overnight, eyewitnesses said.

They told IOL correspondent that the attack inflicted damage on the palace and U.S. army vehicles parked inside, but there was no report about casualties.

Additionally, an unknown armed group launched three mortar shells on the so-called "Grand Saddam Bridge" southeast of Baghdad, causing a number of injuries among car occupants, eyewitnesses said.

They added that another armed group launched Tuesday, October 28, an RPG on a U.S. military vehicle near the Rafidain Bank at the southern Baghdad Al-Mashtal area, wounding at least one U.S. soldier and causing severe damage to his all-terrain hummer.

Baghdad Bombings Toll Up

In another development, the number of Iraqi civilians and policemen killed in bombing attacks on the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and five police centers in Baghdad Monday, October 27, have risen to 57, Commander of Baghdad Police Major-General Hassan Al-Obeidy said.

"We still have other casualties that we have not counted till today (Wednesday) because their bodies have been completely charred and their identities have not been known," Obeidy told IOL correspondent.