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Children, 3 Soldiers Killed In Suicide Bombing

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By KIM GAMEL, The Associated Press

Published: November 19, 2007

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber detonated his explosives as American soldiers were handing out toys to children northeast of Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least three children and three of the troops, U.S. and Iraqi authorities said.

Seven children were wounded in the attack in Baqouba, where U.S. soldiers wrested control from al-Qaida in Iraq last summer.

The attack, along with a series of other blasts in the capital and to the north, underlined the uncertainty of security in Iraq even as the American military said overall violence is down 55 percent since a troop buildup began this year.

"This is another example of how AQI cares nothing about the Iraqi people. They will kill children to meet their goals," said Maj. Peggy Kageleiry, a spokeswoman for U.S. forces in northern Iraq.

Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, a U.S. military spokesman, said overall attacks in Iraq have fallen 55 percent since nearly 30,000 additional American troops arrived in Iraq by June, and some areas are experiencing their lowest levels of violence since summer 2005.
Iraqi civilian casualties were down 60 percent across the country since June, and the figure for Baghdad was even better - 75 percent, Smith said.

But he acknowledged the "violence is still too high" and warned Iraq still faces serious threats from Shiite militants as well as al-Qaida in Iraq.

He also said Iranian interference continued to be a problem for Iraq's stability.

U.S. and Iraqi officials have said in recent weeks that Iran appears to be honoring a commitment to stem the flow of deadly weapons to support Shiite militia fighters in Iraq, contributing to the sharp decline in violence.

But American officials tempered that optimism on Sunday, saying it was too early to determine Iran's role in the downturn.

"It's unclear to us what role the Iranians might have had in these developments, if any," said Philip T. Reeker, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

"It's difficult to read trends in reductions," he said.

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