Suicide Bombings Kill 60 Iraqis; Attack Kills Five U.S. Soldiers

[Jon8503]

Associated Press September 29, 2005 3:26 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Three suicide car bombs exploded nearly simultaneously Thursday evening in a city north of Baghdad, killing 60 people and wounding 70 others, hospital officials said. In the western town of Ramadi, the military said a roadside bomb killed five American soldiers.

The car bombs occurred at about 6:45 p.m. local time, hitting a bank, a vegetable market and another location in downtown Balad, a mostly Shiite city 50 miles north of the capital, witnesses said. Khaled al-Azawi, a doctor at Balad Hospital said at least 60 people were killed, and 70 wounded, including the town's police chief, Col. Kadhim Abdul Razzaq, and four other policemen.

Earlier Thursday, the military said a roadside bomb killed five U.S. soldiers during combat in the western town of Ramadi, the deadliest single attack on American troops in nearly two months. The five were hit by the bomb while "conducting combat operations" Wednesday in the town, which is a hotbed of insurgent activity, a statement from the Marines said. The five soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, it said.

The latest attacks came as the top U.S. commander in Iraq told Congress Thursday the number of Iraqi battalions capable of combat without U.S. support has dropped from three to one, prompting Republicans to question whether U.S. troops will be able to withdraw next year.