17 more American soldiers killed in Iraq

December 28th, 2006

Baghdad, Iraq - The U.S. military announced the deaths of three more American soldiers today with the a total of 17 killed in the last 6 days.

According to the US military, a roadside bomb killed two soldiers and wounded three others on Thursday while they were on a foot patrol north of Baghdad.

Eight Americans were killed over the weekend. Six others since Monday.

Biden wants answers from Rice

Senator Joseph Biden said Tuesday he would summon Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to testify during three weeks of hearings in January about the Iraq war.

The incoming Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, Biden, said he opposes the idea of increasing the level of U.S. troops in Iraq, saying the "troop surge" option will not work.

Boosting troop levels in Iraq by some 30,000 is one of the options being considered by President Bush.

Despite opposition from some senior military commanders, the option is being seriously considered, a U.S. Army general who commands troops in Baghdad told CNN last week.

Biden said Tuesday he strongly favors reducing the troop level, not increasing it.

"We should be drawing down troops gradually, forcing the Iraqis to meet their own needs to end this civil war by a political agreement," Biden said on CNN's "American Morning."