Two U.S. soldiers were killed
Two U.S. soldiers of the1 st Armored Division were killed and one was wounded by a roadside bomb in western Baghdad late on Wednesday, a U.S. military spokesman said.
The latest deaths bring to 256 the number of American soldiers killed in combat in Iraq since U.S. President George W. Bush declared major offensive over on May1 .
The mortar blast was the first attack in Samawa since Japanese troops deployed in Iraq last Sunday.
The round exploded at around5 : 00am ( 0200GMT) in a street near the main road through Samawa, according to a Japanese military official whose contingent is deployed five kilometers (three miles) from the city.
In Madrid, the defense ministry said five Spanish soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter were slightly injured on Wednesday by a home-made bomb near their base in the southern province of Diwaniyah.
The troops, part of a1 ,300-strong Spanish contingent serving in Iraq, were on a foot patrol and returning to their base when an explosive device was hurled from a nearby building.
The attacks came as the U.S. troops continue raids and detention campaigns in Iraqi areas, much to the provocation of local inhabitants. The4 th Infantry Division said in a press release it captured 15 individuals suspected of launching attacks against occupation forces.
