Iraqis' hearts and minds

[ProSense]

Sat May 19, 5:42 AM ET
Iraqis rally in protest against frequent combined U.S. and Iraqi
military raids in Shiite neighborhoods in northeast Baghdad, Iraq,
Saturday, May 19, 2007. Hundreds of residents protested
demanding random raids against their neighborhoods to stop. (AP
Photo/Karim Kadim)

5 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq[/h3>By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer 15 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - The American military widened the search for three missing U.S. soldiers, detaining nine people in a raid Saturday about 25 miles northwest of where the Americans were captured last weekend.

The U.S. command said Saturday five more American soldiers were killed. One died Saturday from a roadside bomb south of Baghdad. Four died Friday — one in the western province of Anbar, one by small arms fire south of the capital and two by a roadside bomb and small arms fire in northwestern Baghdad, the military said.

At least three mortar shells or rockets slammed into the Green Zone after British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived for talks with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders, injuring one person. It was not clear how far Blair was from the blasts.

A U.S. military statement said the nine detainees were taken into custody in the town of Amiriyah, a Sunni insurgent area, following "tips and information leads in the disappearance of three U.S. soldiers" from the Army's 10th Mountain Division.

more