Roadside bomb kills soldier and interpreter

A roadside bomb blasted a US convoy in north Baghdad on Monday, killing an American soldier and his Iraqi interpreter, the military reported, and the top American commander announced plans to establish an Iraqi militia to patrol the country.

The bomb attack wounded three other soldiers from the 1st Armoured Division, and an Iraqi bystander helped pull the Americans from their Humvees, saving the life of at least one of them, the military said.

The death brought to 152 the number of US troops killed in action since the March 20 start of war.

“One man who worked at a nearby stand helped the soldiers out of the vehicles. That probably saved one soldier’s life,” said Ld. Col. John Kem at the scene of the attack.

Two American soldiers and an Iraqi employee of a UN-affiliated relief agency were killed on Sunday.

The soldiers died in an ambush by attackers using rocket-propelled grenades and small arms near Tal Afar, a town west of the northern city of Mosul.

Meanwhile, the new chief of American and allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, Gen. John Abizaid, visited the country for the first time since taking over from Gen. Tommy Franks, meeting with commanders in Baghdad.

In a bid to lower the profile of American troops, who have come under daily attack, Abizaid said he would create a nearly 7,000-strong force of Iraqis to work with US soldiers. The force would consist of eight battalions of armed Iraqi militiamen, each with about 850 men.