1/1/2005 2:45:00 PM GMT
At least three roadside bombs hit Iraqi security forces across Baghdad on Saturday, killing one soldier and wounding eight others.
A roadside bomb hit an Iraqi National Guards convoy south of Mahmoudeya, a town about 25 miles south of Baghdad, killing one soldier and injuring six others, a police officer said.
Another bomb exploded while a U.S. military convoy was passing through southern Baghdad's Dora district on Saturday, witnesses said.
The explosion destroyed nearby stores, but no casualties were reported.
In southern Baghdad, a third bomb went off early Saturday in the town of Youssifiya, injuring two soldiers who were on patrol, police said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. army said in a statement that a Marine assigned to the I Marine Expeditionary Force was killed in action Friday during security operations in the Al Anbar Province. The statement didn’t provide further details.
Zarqawi groups claim responsibility for recent attacks
A group led by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi claimed responsibility for an attack on U.S. forces in the northern city of Mosul.
The group said on Saturday that it was responsible for a well-planned attack Wednesday on a U.S. outpost in Mosul. "We, al-Qaeda in Iraq, claim responsibility for the battles of Mosul,” the group said in a statement posted on its Web site.
The U.S. army said that one Marine and 25 Iraqi fighters were killed in the gunbattle that followed the attack. But the group said that it suffered no casualties.
Another group also said Saturday that it killed five men who worked with the U.S. occupation forces. It posted a video footage on the Internet that showed five men in civilian clothes shot repeatedly in the back.
On Monday, five men were found shot dead in Ramadi, capital of Anbar province. A handwritten note said they were soldiers killed by fighters.
Two beheaded bodies found in Baghdad
Also Saturday, police discovered two beheaded bodies in Baghdad’s western neighborhood of Adl. A note was left beside the bodies saying that they were truck drivers working with the U.S. occupation forces.
Police said that it wasn’t yet known whether the two men were Iraqis or foreigners.
"This is the punishment for all those working with the Americans," read the note left beside the bodies.