Four American troops have been killed in Iraq, the military announced Friday. In the bloodiest incident, one soldier was killed and nine were hurt by a blast next to their patrol Thursday while they were "conducting combat operations" in Diyala province north of Baghdad.
Two of the wounded were able to return to duty, a statement said, while the others are receiving treatment.
In another attack on Thursday one "soldier was killed and two others were wounded when an improvised explosive device detonated on their patrol in eastern Baghdad," another statement said, according to AFP. One soldier was shot dead "while conducting combat security operations" in south Baghdad. Another, from the military police, died of his wounds after being hit by gunfire in Diwaniyah, south of the capital.
Meanwhile, suicide bombers activated an explosives-laden truck and a car against two police checkpoints in east Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 12 people and wounding 22 more, a defence official said.
The blasts hit outposts protecting bridges and a police station in the mainly Shiite Zafaraniya district in the southeast of the city, the official told AFP.
