Iraq: 23 Iraqis, three US troops killed in blasts

Three American troops were killed by roadside bombs in and around Baghdad, the military said Thursday.

According to the AP, two soldiers died Wednesday when a roadside bomb went off while they were on a foot patrol southwest of the Iraqi capital, the military said in a statement. Another soldier was injured in the blast, the military said.

A third solider died in a separate attack Wednesday in an eastern section of Baghdad, another statement said. The unit was on a route clearing mission when a roadside bomb went off nearby, the military said. Two other soldiers were injured. With 98 US soldiers killed so far this month, December is the second-deadliest month of 2006 for U.S. military personnel. A total of 105 troops died in October.

Meanwhile, three bombs killed 23 Iraqis in Baghdad on Thursday. Two bombs exploded shortly after 10 a.m. opposite a park in the South Gate area, killing nine civilians and injuring 43, a police officer told the AP. A bomb planted under a car killed 12 civilians and injured 26 others near al-Sha'ab stadium in eastern Baghdad, police said.

Another bomb targeted a police patrol in western Baghdad but missed, killing two civilians instead, police said. Four others were injured and taken to Yarmouk Hospital.