Post by Salem6 on Nov 1, 2003 10:06:53 GMT
Two American soldiers have been killed and two others wounded in an explosion in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
A crude bomb or landmine exploded by the side of a road as a US military convoy was passing.
The BBC's Jill McGivering, in the capital Baghdad, says attacks on American forces occupying Iraq are now averaging about 25 a day.
Saturday morning's attack comes exactly six months after US President George W Bush declared major hostilities over.
The soldiers who were killed and injured were from the 101st Airborne Division.
"There was a huge blast. The two drivers of the vehicles were definitely killed," policeman Abdul-Rahman Fawaz, who witnessed the explosion, told Reuters news agency.
'Day of resistance'
In Baghdad, there have been widespread rumours that militants are planning attacks this weekend.
Leaflets have been circulating threatening a day of resistance against the US occupation, and the US and Australian diplomatic missions have issued security warnings to their nationals.
Source of attacks unclear
Our correspondent says some Iraqi residents kept their children away from school on Saturday.
The past week has seen a surge in attacks across Iraq, including a series of bombings in Baghdad on Monday that left 36 people dead, making it the bloodiest day since the start of the US-led occupation.
Faced with continuing attacks, US forces have stepped up their efforts to track down suspected former regime loyalists who they blame for much of the violence.
American troops have erected barbed wire around Saddam Hussein's home village near the northern town of Tikrit.
Soldiers have set up checkpoints in and out of the village of Uja, where residents have been ordered to register for identity cards.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said there is no evidence that Iraq's deposed leader, Saddam Hussein, is behind the ongoing wave of attacks in the country.
In a US television interview, Mr Powell also dismissed speculation that Saddam Hussein's former deputy, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, was linked to the targeting of the American-led forces in Iraq.
The New York Times newspaper had earlier reported that senior US defence officials had intelligence suggesting Saddam Hussein was acting as a catalyst or a leader of armed opposition to the coalition presence.
Video:-
news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39518000/rm/_39518289_mosul09_ghattas_2wy_vi.ram
A crude bomb or landmine exploded by the side of a road as a US military convoy was passing.
The BBC's Jill McGivering, in the capital Baghdad, says attacks on American forces occupying Iraq are now averaging about 25 a day.
Saturday morning's attack comes exactly six months after US President George W Bush declared major hostilities over.
The soldiers who were killed and injured were from the 101st Airborne Division.
"There was a huge blast. The two drivers of the vehicles were definitely killed," policeman Abdul-Rahman Fawaz, who witnessed the explosion, told Reuters news agency.
'Day of resistance'
In Baghdad, there have been widespread rumours that militants are planning attacks this weekend.
Leaflets have been circulating threatening a day of resistance against the US occupation, and the US and Australian diplomatic missions have issued security warnings to their nationals.
Source of attacks unclear
Our correspondent says some Iraqi residents kept their children away from school on Saturday.
The past week has seen a surge in attacks across Iraq, including a series of bombings in Baghdad on Monday that left 36 people dead, making it the bloodiest day since the start of the US-led occupation.
Faced with continuing attacks, US forces have stepped up their efforts to track down suspected former regime loyalists who they blame for much of the violence.
American troops have erected barbed wire around Saddam Hussein's home village near the northern town of Tikrit.
Soldiers have set up checkpoints in and out of the village of Uja, where residents have been ordered to register for identity cards.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said there is no evidence that Iraq's deposed leader, Saddam Hussein, is behind the ongoing wave of attacks in the country.
In a US television interview, Mr Powell also dismissed speculation that Saddam Hussein's former deputy, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, was linked to the targeting of the American-led forces in Iraq.
The New York Times newspaper had earlier reported that senior US defence officials had intelligence suggesting Saddam Hussein was acting as a catalyst or a leader of armed opposition to the coalition presence.
Video:-
news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39518000/rm/_39518289_mosul09_ghattas_2wy_vi.ram