5 U.S. Marines killed in roadside bomb attack in western Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) A roadside bomb killed five U.S. Marines during combat operations in western Iraq, and the bodies of 21 Iraqis were found scattered in separate locations near a town close to the Syrian border considered an insurgent hotbed, officials and witnesses said Friday.

Between bombs and incoming shells, tanning and `Star Wars' offer soldiers respite from war
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) One young man cannonballed into the cool blue pool, another applied suntan lotion to his girlfriend's shoulders and a third swung his machine gun onto a lawn chair. A pair of Black Hawk helicopters hovered above.

EU plans to open mission in Baghdad within next few months, official says
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) The European Commission said Friday it plans to open a delegation in Baghdad within the next few months, establishing a permanent mission in Iraq for the first time.

Criminal investigation initiated in deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) The U.S. military has launched a criminal inquiry into the killings of two Army officers at a base north of Baghdad, the military said Friday.

At least 17 bodies found in Iraqi desert town near Syrian border
QAIM, Iraq (AP) At least 17 bodies in civilian clothes were found scattered near a town close to the Syrian border that is considered an insurgent hotbed, with 11 shot in the head and another beheaded, witnesses said Friday.

Contractor investigating allegations that workers shot at U.S. military
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) The head of a firm contracted to destroy ammunition in Iraq insists it is ``inconceivable'' his workers fired on Marines in Fallujah, given that nearly all of them have military backgrounds.

U.S. requests extradition of top Colombian paramilitary warlord
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) The United States on Thursday formally requested the extradition of the man considered Colombia's most brutal paramilitary warlord, indicted for conspiracy to import tons of cocaine into the United States.

Correction: Warrior lawmakers story
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) In a June 7 story about lawmakers serving with the military in Afghanistan and Iraq, The Associated Press erroneously reported the party affiliation of U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer of Indiana. He is a Republican, not a Democrat.

A daily look at U.S. military deaths in Iraq
As of Thursday, June 9, 2005, at least 1,683 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. At least 1,293 died as a result of hostile action, according to the Defense Department. The figures include four military civilians.

Lawmakers working against the clock to write Iraq's new constitution
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) They huddle daily in a cavernous auditorium inside the most heavily fortified area of the capital, sometimes shouting as they argue about Iraq's new constitution, sometimes pausing briefly to munch on cookies.