Our Iraq jihad update comes from Reuters, “Nine dead in U.S. assault, blasts hit Baghdad”
BAGHDAD – The U.S. military said on Saturday nine of its troops were killed in an offensive against insurgents and foreign fighters in western Iraq, and guerrillas struck again in Baghdad, leaving at least five people dead.
Backed by air power, U.S. Marines, sailors and soldiers have been trying to root out guerrillas in the rebellious Anbar province to weaken an insurgency that has escalated attacks since a new Iraq government was announced April 28.
The assault, which entered its seventh day, is designed to root out guerrillas in one of their most active areas near the Syrian border.
Insurgents struck again in the capital when a suicide car bomber blew himself up next to an Iraqi police patrol in central Baghdad, killing at least four people, police sources said.
The blast echoed across central Baghdad and thick black smoke rose from burning vehicles in what has become a daily scene since Iraq announced a cabinet.
In a second attack, insurgents hurled grenades at a police convoy in western Baghdad, killing one policeman…
In the oil refining town of Baiji, a car bomb blast killed five Iraqis on Friday evening, police said.
Two policemen and two civilians were killed in clashes in the town of Samarra on Saturday, police Captain Hashem al-Sulami said…