Tensions high in Iraq on anniversary of Baathist revolution

US forces in Iraq were expecting more trouble today on the anniversary of the 1968 Baathist revolution that brought Saddam Hussein’s political party to power.

Yesterday saw a marked escalation in attacks: Suspected insurgents tried to shoot down a US transport plane with a surface-to-air missile, killed an US soldier in a convoy and gunned down the pro-American mayor of an Iraqi town.