[ppi] [ppiindia] dua tentara US terbunuh dalam pemboman di Irak -->perang masih berlangsung

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2 GI's Killed in Iraq Blast in WMD Search=20

BAGHDAD, Iraq - An explosion leveled part of a building as U.S.=20
troops searched it for suspected "chemical munitions" on Monday, an=20
American general said. Two soldiers were killed and five wounded, and=20
a cheering mob of Iraqis looted their wrecked Humvees, taking away=20
weapons, a helmet and a bandolier.=20

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt did not say what sort of chemical munitions=20
were believed to be produced at the site. After the blast, there was=20
no sign in the area of precautions against chemicals.=20

"Chemical munitions could mean any number of things," including smoke=20
grenades, he said.=20

In Fallujah, U.S. troops and insurgents battled around a mosque in=20
fighting that killed one Marine and eight militants. The area shook=20
with heavy explosions a day after U.S. officials announced a fragile=20
cease-fire in the besieged city was being extended.=20

The deaths of the two soldiers in Baghdad and the Marine in Fallujah=20
brought to 114 the number of U.S. troops killed in combat this month.=20
During the two-month invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein (news - web=20
sites) a year ago, 115 Americans were killed.=20

In the south, U.S troops rolled into a base in Najaf to replace=20
Spanish forces who are withdrawing and to increase pressure on the=20
militia of anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The Americans=20
were three miles from the city's holy sites =97 shrines that U.S.=20
commanders have said they won't go near for fear of outraging Iraq=20
(news - web sites)'s Shiite Muslim majority.=20

But the top U.S. administrator, L. Paul Bremer, said weapons were=20
being stockpiled in mosques, shrines and schools in Najaf and, in a=20
message directed to residents, warned, "The coalition certainly will=20
not tolerate this situation."=20

Bremer's spokesman, Dan Senor, said the mosques must be "made safe=20
immediately" but would not elaborate on what the coalition would do.=20
He noted that in the case of military action, "those places of=20
worship are not protected under the Geneva Convention" if they are=20
used to store weapons.=20

The Baghdad explosion occurred as U.S. troops broke into the building=20
in the northern Waziriya district. The front half of the one-story=20
building was leveled, setting ablaze four Humvees parked outside.=20

Two soldiers were killed and five were wounded, Kimmitt said. He said=20
the cause of the blast was being investigated, but added, "it had=20
quite an amount of explosives there."=20

Some residents said the building was a perfume factory, while others=20
said it had once been a scrap metal workshop that repaired weapons=20
and recycled old ammunition.=20

Asked about reports that the raid team included members of the Iraq=20
Survey Group =97 the U.S. team searching for weapons of mass=20
destruction in the country =97 Kimmitt said only: "The inspection was=20
by a number of coalition forces."=20

He said the owner of the site was "suspected of supplying chemical=20
agents" to Iraqi insurgents, but did not elaborate.=20

A U.S. soldier was seen taken away on a stretcher, her chest and face=20
severely burned. Witnesses reported other U.S. casualties removed in=20
ambulances. Several Iraqis were pulled from the wreckage, including a=20
woman who wept as she was carried over a man's shoulder.=20

Afterward, dozens of cheering teenagers started to smash the=20
abandoned Humvees. One child climbed on a hood and beat it with a=20
stick. Iraqis stripped the vehicles of equipment, one carrying a=20
heavy machine gun, another waving a U.S. helmet. One man sported=20
military headphones.=20

"This is for the madman Bush, for the madman Bremer!" said one youth,=20
waving a rifle.=20

Monday's fighting in Fallujah sent two columns of heavy black smoke=20
over the northern Jolan district, a poor neighborhood thought to have=20
a large concentration of Sunni insurgents. Explosions rang out, along=20
with the sound of mortars and heavy machine guns.=20

The battle began when U.S. troops came under fire by rocket-propelled=20
grenades from a mosque in a northwestern neighborhood, Kimmitt said.=20

The Americans were pinned down by fire and called in support from=20
helicopter gunships in the ensuing gunbattle. The mosque was damaged=20
in the fight, Kimmitt said.=20

Besides the one soldier killed, eight were wounded, Kimmitt said. He=20
did not give their nationality, though no troops other than Americans=20
are known to be involved in the Fallujah siege.=20

The fighting came a day after U.S. officials announced a fragile=20
cease-fire would be extended for two days and that political efforts=20
at a resolution would continue, backing off warnings that U.S.=20
Marines could launch a full-fledged offensive in the city within=20
days.=20

As part of the extended cease-fire, Marines are to begin joint=20
patrols in Fallujah with Iraqi security forces =97 a measure aimed at=20
showing some degree of control without launching a new assault.=20
Marines began training Iraqi security forces to join them on patrols,=20
due to start by Thursday.=20

Marine Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne said patrols coming under fire wouldn't=20
necessarily spark a renewal of a general U.S. offensive.=20

"We're perfectly happy to move down the street, destroy a bad guy=20
over here and just continue on with the patrol," he said.=20

In Najaf, about 200 troops and military police rolled into the=20
Spanish base. The move deploys U.S. troops within the Najaf urban=20
area for the first time since massing outside the city earlier this=20
month to put down the al-Sadr's Al-Mahdi Army militia.=20

Phil Kosnett, of the U.S.-led coalition authorities in Najaf, said=20
businesses are open part time, most schools are closed and the local=20
government is mostly shut down.=20

"We continue to be mortared every night ... talk of a cease-fire is=20
ludicrous," Kosnett said.=20

Shiite militias remain a threat in other southern cities, and=20
insurgents in Karbala fired at Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov's=20
motorcade Sunday as he made a brief visit to Iraq. The president's=20
security detail fired back, the attackers fled and no one in the=20
motorcade was hurt.=20

U.S. troops will take over security duties across Najaf and Qadisiyah=20
provinces around May 27, said Polish Col. Robert Strzelecki,=20
spokesman of the multinational troops that control those provinces=20
and three others.=20

Spain, Honduras and the Dominican Republic =97 under the Polish-led=20
force =97 have been patrolling Najaf and Qadisiyah.=20

Last week, new Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero=20
ordered Spanish troops home as soon as possible. Honduras and the=20
Dominican Republic decided to pull their forces soon afterward.=20

Zapatero's Socialist party beat Jose Maria Aznar's conservative=20
Popular Party in March 14 elections, just three days after commuter-
train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 people and injured more than=20
2,000.=20

"The government has taken the road of appeasement, a road that=20
history has shown to be the worst possible when dealing with=20
threats," Aznar wrote in a column published Monday by the Madrid-
based newspaper ABC.=20

Meanwhile, Iraq's U.S.-picked leaders approved a new flag, dumping=20
the Saddam Hussein-era colors and slogan "God is great."=20

The new flag is white, with two parallel blue strips across the=20
bottom representing the rivers and a yellow stripe between them=20
representing Iraq's Kurdish minority. Above the stripes is a blue=20
crescent representing Islam.=20



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