Iraq Bombings Kills 6 U.S. Soldiers Today

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The United Nations (news - web sites) agreed Tuesday to send a team to Iraq (news - web sites) to help break the impasse over electing a new government as the deaths of six more American soldiers in roadside bombings underscored concerns about security in the volatile nation.


A bomb that exploded south of Baghdad killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded three others Tuesday night, hours after another bombing west of the capital killed three U.S. paratroopers and wounded one, the military said. In addition, two employees of Cable News Network died in a shooting south of Baghdad.


Elsewhere, U.S. troops killed three suspected members of a guerrilla cell during raids Tuesday in the central Iraqi town of Beiji, the Army said. And a suspected car bomb was discovered near coalition and Iraqi Governing Council offices.


The United States has cited the ongoing violence in arguing against demands by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani for the direct election of a provisional legislature, which in turn will select a government to take power by July 1.

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UN to assess Iraq poll plan, six US soldiers die

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(Adds three more US soldiers killed; Brahimi comments; UK vote)

By Mark John and Fiona O'Brien

PARIS/BAGHDAD, Jan 27 (Reuters) - U.N. chief Kofi Annan said on Tuesday that if it was safe he would send a team to Iraq to study the feasibility of early elections, but on the same day six U.S. soldiers and two CNN staff died in fresh violence.

On one of the bloodiest days for the U.S. Army in Iraq for months, U.N. Secretary-General Annan said he would send a mission to see whether direct polls would be possible before the United States hands back power to Iraqis in mid-2004.

Yet one of his own envoys at once cast doubt on the idea.

Lakhdar Brahimi, 70, an Algerian ex-foreign minister, also signalled he would not play the key role Washington wants him to take in organising a political transition to Iraqi self-rule.

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