US soldiers die in Najaf fighting

Two US soldiers were killed during fighting in Najaf, a military spokesperson said today.

The two were killed yesterday when troops came under attack by militiamen loyal to al-Sadr in Najaf, Marine Captain Carrie Batson said.

A roadside bomb killed three members of the Iraqi National Guard today and two civilians were killed in a mortar attack north of the Iraqi capital, witnesses said.

The three guardsmen were killed when a bomb went off near their vehicle in an industrial section of Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, said Zuhair Abdul-Kareem, a guardsman who survived the blast.

Also today, two civilians were killed and four were injured when a mortar shell struck their house in Baqouba.