Accident brings US death toll in Iraq past the 2,000 mark

THE American death toll reached 2,001 yesterday with the announcement that a soldier died in an accident on Tuesday.

Three mostly Sunni Arab parties said they have formed a coalition to compete in upcoming parliamentary elections as the minority moves to consolidate its power in the political arena.

The soldier, whose identity was withheld pending notification of relatives, died in a vehicle accident on Tuesday evening near Camp Bucca, a US detention centre in southern Iraq, the military said.