Roadside Bombs Kill At Least Nine In Iraq

(RFE/RL) March 9, 2006 -- Two roadside bombs exploded in different areas of western Baghdad's Amriya district today, killing at least nine people and injuring several others.

The bombs apparently targeted Iraqi police patrols. All the casualties reported were civilians.

The U.S. military said today two soldiers have been killed since March 7 in fighting in the western Anbar province.

On March 8, a U.S. military patrol found 18 bodies in an abandoned minibus in western Baghdad. Iraqi police said the victims had been handcuffed, blindfolded, and hanged or shot. There were also signs that they had been tortured.

Also, there was still no word on the fate of some 50 employees of a private security firm who were seized in Baghdad by gunmen wearing police uniforms on March 8.

(Reuters, AP, dpa)