Bomb attacks kill six U.S. soldiers as coalition forces step up pressure on insurgents

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A suicide attack and roadside bombings killed six American soldiers, the U.S. command said Wednesday, as U.S. and Iraqi troops staged raids in Ramadi and Baqouba, stepping up pressure on Sunni insurgents before this week's start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

A suicide driver plowed into a U.S. convoy and blew up his car Wednesday in the northern city of Mosul, killing two American soldiers and wounding five, according to the military. It was the second deadly suicide attack against American convoys in Mosul in the past three days.

In Baghdad, Iraq's interim prime minister also warned that U.S. and Iraqi forces will launch military operations in the main insurgent stronghold Fallujah if residents do not hand over Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose group has kidnapped and beheaded numerous foreigners.

During Wednesday's raids, U.S. troops swept into the Sunni stronghold of Ramadi and joined Iraqi police and National Guardsmen in raids in Baqouba after a day of fierce clashes in militant enclaves stretching from the gates of Baghdad to the Syrian border.

Last year, insurgents sharply increased their attacks against U.S. and coalition forces during Ramadan, expected to start at the end of this week. Extremists believe they win a special place in paradise if they die in a jihad, or holy war, during Ramadan.

Three of the U.S. deaths occurred late Tuesday when a roadside bomb exploded near a U.S. convoy in eastern Baghdad, the U.S. command said. Another American soldier died in a bombing before dawn Wednesday in western Baghdad.

Two soldiers were killed Wednesday in the Mosul attack and five were wounded, two of whom returned to duty later in the day, the military said. One U.S. soldier was killed Monday in a similar suicide operation.

More than 1,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops launched two simultaneous raids Wednesday around Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, to clear the area of insurgents.

One of the early morning operations took place just south of the city, in the village of Daliabbas, said Capt. Marshall Jackson, spokesman for the 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. Several people were detained. The other operation also took place in Baqouba though no location was given.

"Basically, it's a pre-Ramadan operation just to clear up some of the area around Baqouba," Jackson said.

The city has been relatively peaceful in recent months, but U.S. commanders noted an upswing in insurgent activity during last year's Ramadan in Diyala province.