At least 15 Iraqi soldiers are missing, feared kidnapped following a rocket attach on a military bus west of the capital last night.
The bus was driving to a US military post when it was struck by rocket-propelled grenades near Baghdadi, about 90 miles west of the capital, said an Iraqi National Guard officer who identified himself only as Lt. Col. Hesham.
He said the bus burst into flames but no bodies were found, raising fears the troops had been taken prisoner.
Elsewhere, the US military announced that two Marines and a 1st Infantry Division soldier were killed in separate clashes the previous day.
Iraqi police ambushed a group of gunmen in a Sunni neighborhood of Baghdad known as a stronghold of support for Saddam Hussein, killing seven, police Capt. Ahmed Ismael said. The fight occurred near the Abu Hanifa mosque, whose clerics are outspoken opponents of the election.