Five US troops die in Baghdad

FIVE American troops serving as advisers to Iraqi security police in eastern Baghdad were killed yesterday when rockets slammed into the compound where they lived.

The deaths were the largest single-day loss of life for American forces in two years.

The US military announced the deaths in a brief statement, excluding details. Two Iraqi security officials later said the troops died when three rockets hit near the US forces’ living quarters at a joint US-Iraqi base in the Baladiyat neighbourhood where American troops were partnering with Ministry of Interior police.

American forces said the incident is under investigation. Names of the dead were withheld pending notification of family. The deaths raised to 4,459 the number of American service members who have died in Iraq.