Seven US soldiers killed in Baghdad

The US military has reported the deaths of seven soldiers in Baghdad.

Five of the soldiers were assigned to Multi-National Division-Baghdad, one was a member of Task Force Lightning who was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and one other was a Multi-National Corps-Iraq soldier attached to north division.

At least 73 US service members have been killed so far this month.

The latest reported deaths raised to at least 3,079 the number of US service members who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003. The figure includes seven military civilians.

At least 2,471 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military.

Meanwhile, Sunni insurgent bombers struck yet another market in a predominantly Shiite district, killing at least 13 in their relentless bid to terrorise Baghdad in the final days before US and Iraqi soldiers plan to begin a massive crackdown in the capital.

The latest market attack capped a week in which more than 150 people, mostly Shiites, were killed in bomb attacks.

Death squads, believed to be primarily Shiite militiamen, continued their butchery on the other side of Iraq’s deepening sectarian divide, with police reporting the discovery of 40 bodies dumped in Baghdad alone.

Two of the victims were women and most of the bodies showed signs of torture, police said.

In all, at least 61 victims of Iraq’s sectarian warfare were killed or found dead across the country.

US airstrikes killed 14 insurgents and destroyed a safe house for foreign fighters during a raid south of Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. Two suspects were capture, the military said.

The Americans said the raid had targeted a foreigner they believed responsible for a series of attacks on US and Iraqi forces in the violent Baqouba region. The military has been caught up there in the midst of some of the bloodiest sectarian fighting of the war.

Today’s bombings employed what has become a classic insurgent tactic. First a suicide car bomber smashed in the busy New Baghdad commercial area shortly after noon, near a major intersection lined with stores and kiosks selling food, clothes, household appliances and birds.

As rescuers and shoppers rushed to help the victims, a parked car bomb exploded. The 13 killed included two policemen; four officers were among the 42 wounded, police said.

Farooq Haitham, the 33-year-old owner of a watch repair shop, said the area had been targeted by many bombings, but shopkeepers had no choice but to keep opening their doors.

“What can we do? We want to live. We need the money so we come to work,” Haitham said.

It was the latest in a series of attacks against commercial targets this week, in which more than 150 people died and signalling a tough battle ahead as US and Iraqi forces prepare for the security operation – a third bid to pacify the capital since Prime Minister Nouri Maliki took power on May 25.

Shortly before sunset tonight, a rocket slammed into the Green Zone, wounding two people slightly.

It was the second time in three days that rockets hit the area, home to the US Embassy, the Iraqi government and thousands of American troops.