A suicide bomber killed five U.S. soldiers in northern Iraq, in the single
largest loss of American life in Iraq in more than a year.
Two Iraqi
policeman were also killed in the blast in Mosul Friday. Iraqi officials said
at least 65 other people were wounded.
The U.S. military said a
suicide bomber set off an explosive-laden truck outside a police base in Mosul.
Officials said the target was the base, not the U.S. patrol that happened to be
on the same street when the attack occurred.
The military added that two
people suspected of involvement in the bombing in Mosul have been
detained.
Violence remains common in Mosul, as extremists exploit
divisions between the city's Arabs, Kurds and other ethnic and religious
groups.
U.S. forces are set to withdraw from Iraqi cities by the end of
June.
Other parts of Iraq have experienced a sharp reduction in violence
in the past year, but a series of bombings in Baghdad in recent days has claimed
dozens of lives.
Some information for this
report was provided by AFP and Reuters.