By Prensa Latina
Baghdad : The United States body count in Iraq rose to 4,023, with seven new fatalities caused by the resistance to the US-led military occupation of the Arab nation.
The Central Command says two men were killed by rocked launched against Baghdad, while a roadside bomb claimed the life of a third soldier during a patrolling mission.
Another four soldiers were downed by rebel fire, turning this week into one of the most violent for the invaders this year.
Media coverage highlighted the growing firepower targetting the US-led CENTCOM (multinational force that invaded and occupied Iraq in 2003), and local collaborators as the fifth anniversary of ex President Saddam Hussein eviction approached.
Meanwhile, the British daily The Guardian talks of secret US agreements with the Iraqi government to secure a lasting presence at the Persian Gulf country which they turned into a test ground for weaponry and military strategies.
A March 7 document, marked top secret and sensitive, neither sets a date for withdrawal, nor describes the volume of the US troops or the nature of their weaponry or the US military legal status compared to Iraqi nationals.
The paper reminds that the UN mandate in Iraq expires by year’s end, and claims by Democrat Senator and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton exposed efforts by the Bush Administration to tie its substitute’s hands concerning Iraq.