At least one American soldier has been killed and two others injured in south of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. The incident reported on Friday when the soldiers' patrol was hit by a road side bomb, the US military reported.
Also Friday, American troops seized 16 more Iraqis suspected of smuggling armour-piercing bombs from Iran, the US military said. The arrests came one day after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice exchanged brief remarks with her Iranian peer Manouchehr Mottaki at talks on Iraq in Egypt.
"The individuals targeted during the raid are suspected members of a secret cell terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq," the US Army said, according to the AP.
The statement, released by coalition command in Baghdad, also accused the captives of "bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training."
"Intelligence reports also indicate the secret cell has ties to a kidnapping network that conducts attacks within Iraq as well as interactions with rogue elements throughout Iraq and into Iran," it said.
