Dec. is 2d-deadliest month for US forces in Iraq in '06

BAGHDAD -- Insurgent attacks have killed five more US servicemen, the military said yesterday -- making December the second-deadliest month for American forces in 2006.

Insurgents killed three Marines and one sailor in Anbar Province, and a soldier was killed in an attack in Baghdad that included small-arms fire and explosives, authorities said.

So far this month, 76 American troops have died in Iraq, the same number that were killed in April. With nine days remaining in December, the monthly total of US deaths could meet or exceed the death toll of 105 in October.

As American deaths in the war pushed closer to 3,000, Iraqis continued to fall victim to sectarian violence between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims. Police recovered 21 more bodies in the cities of Baghdad, Baqouba, and Kut.

The deaths occurred as newly appointed Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates wrapped up a three-day visit to Iraq during which he met with US military commanders and Iraqi leaders to assess the situation before a briefing Monday with President Bush.

Iraqi politicians' responses were mixed. Most say they would welcome additional US efforts to train and equip Iraqi security forces, but some have concerns about US proposals to increase the number of American troops.

"The Iraqis want -- before any actual increase in the number of American troops -- to expand the Iraqi role in handling security," said Abbas Bayati, a Shi'ite politician with ties to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. "The Americans, on the other hand, want to bring 20,000 to 30,000 troops to secure Baghdad for two to three months. Iraqi commanders wonder if such a large number is needed."

In sermons yesterday, Muslim clerics criticized the current national government as ineffective, lamented ongoing sectarian violence, and condemned politicians who had left Iraq to make the pilgrimage to Mecca while the country is in crisis.

Muslims around the world are observing the holy days of Eid, which end the pilgrimage season and bring in the new Islamic year.

"Some leaders appear on television as they perform pilgrimage to Mecca, and they are shown as they pray and fast," said Sheikh Harith Obaidi, a Sunni cleric in Baghdad.

"But when they are alone . . . they are quite different. These leaders are butchers who mention the name of God as they slaughter the sheep, just as they mention the name of God and kill people, they mention the name of God and imprison people, they mention the name of God and displace people."

Also yesterday, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the purported leader of Al Qaeda-linked insurgents in Iraq offered a one-month truce for US troops to withdraw from the country without being attacked, according to a speech posted on an Islamic website.

Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.