6 U.S. Troops Die in Three Bomb Attacks

Six U.S. soldiers were reported killed in attacks here and in the northern city of Mosul as anxiety mounted over a feared wave of insurgent violence during the sacred Muslim month of Ramadan, which begins this week.

A pair of roadside bombs in Baghdad killed four American soldiers late Tuesday and Wednesday, and a car bombing on a convoy in Mosul killed two and injured five, the military said. The names of the dead were withheld pending notification of their families.

In all, 1,081 U.S. troops have been killed since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, according to the Defense Department; 940 of the deaths occurred after President Bush declared an end to major combat operations.

Bracing for an upsurge in violence, U.S. troops and the interim Iraqi government have boosted efforts to establish control over insurgent strongholds before Ramadan. Last year, the month was marred by a series of attacks.

A combined force of 800 American soldiers and Iraqi security forces launched simultaneous raids Wednesday morning near Baqubah, about 25 miles northeast of the capital.

“We’re expecting a bit of an increase in activity in Ramadan. So we’re just trying to clean the area out as a preventative measure,” said Capt. Marshall Jackson, spokesman for the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, which is responsible for the Baqubah area.

Meanwhile, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi issued an ultimatum to the citizens of Fallouja. In a speech before the Iraqi National Council, he threatened a large-scale military offensive unless residents handed over militant leader Abu Musab Zarqawi, who has claimed responsibility for a series of beheadings and has long been suspected of operating from the city.

“We have asked Fallouja residents to turn over Zarqawi and his group. If they don’t do it, we are ready for major operations,” Allawi said.

The military and political push for control comes as residents prepare for Ramadan -- which will begin either Friday or Saturday, depending on when the new crescent moon is sighted.

One of the most important months of the Muslim calendar, Ramadan is typically marked by abstinence, religious introspection and public celebration. Observant Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations from dawn until sunset. Many read the entire Koran or attend lengthy evening prayers at mosques.

In Iraq, Ramadan nights are marked by lavish meals among families at home or in restaurants that stay open all night. But this year, fears of insurgent and criminal violence are creating conditions for a de facto curfew that is likely to leave the streets of the capital almost deserted after dark.

“Me and my friends every year would gather at a video game parlor and spend the whole night there until dawn prayers,” said Amir Sabah, a 26-year-old auto parts dealer. “This year we can’t stay away from our homes long because of the security situation.”

In the days leading up to Ramadan, insurgents have shown no sign of letup. Islamic militants posted a video on the Internet on Wednesday showing the beheading of two Iraqis accused by their captors of being Iraqi government intelligence agents, Associated Press reported.

The two men identified themselves as Fadhel Ibrahim and Firas Ismail and said they were government intelligence officers kidnapped Sept. 28 on Haifa Street, an insurgent stronghold in Baghdad.

Last year, Ramadan ushered in a violent escalation in Iraq’s then less-entrenched insurgency, as a series of coordinated car bombings rattled Baghdad.

On the first day, Oct. 27, bombers struck three Iraqi police stations and the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross, killing at least 35 people and injuring more than 200. A few days later, a Chinook transport helicopter was shot down by insurgents near Fallouja, killing 16 U.S. troops.

“We are of course aware of the precedent from last year and the intensification of attacks, but we maintain at all times the highest state of alert,” a U.S. Embassy official said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

This year, extra patrols are planned for high-traffic public areas and around police stations and major religious shrines, said Brig. Raad Yas, head of the major crimes division of the Baghdad police.

He remained optimistic, hoping for a peaceful Ramadan. He said any violence would be blunted by recent developments, including a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation to clear insurgents from the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad, and a fledgling peace agreement with radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr.

But, Yas said, “Maybe this is the calm before the storm.”

Members of Sadr’s Al Mahdi militia continued to turn over heavy weapons Wednesday as part of the truce. Allawi hailed the weapons transfer, which was to continue through Friday.

“In return, we are prepared to carry out our promises by releasing prisoners and stopping military operations in Sadr City,” Yas said, “but that does require that the other side keep its promises.”

Fallouja remains outside government control, with U.S. troops stationed on its outskirts, launching regular airstrikes on houses allegedly used by militants. Allawi’s ultimatum to the city comes as negotiations continue between the government and Fallouja representatives.

Allawi did not set a deadline for residents there to turn over Zarqawi and end their fight. But the long-anticipated offensive against the city might be put off until after Ramadan. In recent days, Bush administration officials have said they planned to delay major assaults on rebel-held cities until after the U.S. presidential election, which falls in Ramadan.

Wednesday’s raids near Baqubah resulted in the detention of 10 suspected insurgents, said Jackson, the 1st Infantry Division spokesman. Machine guns, a sniper rifle and bomb-making material were confiscated, he said.

The roundup, Jackson said, could clear the way for U.S. troops to maintain a low-key presence in the coming weeks.

“We’re not going to go out of our way to disrupt things during Ramadan. There’s probably going to be reduced patrols,” he said. “But we’re not going to wait for them to start shooting at us.”

Hisham Abdel Fatah, a police officer who lives in Fallouja, predicted that insurgents would “see any operations in Ramadan as blessed” and escalate their campaign to destabilize the interim government.

In a sermon Friday at Baghdad’s Umm Qura Mosque, headquarters of the staunchly anti-U.S. Muslim Scholars’ Assn., Sheik Ahmed Abdel Ghafour spoke of the month’s “special sanctity for Muslims” and tied Ramadan to the effort to rid Iraq of foreign troops.

“Our fasting is a form of jihad,” he said. “We must exploit this month for good deeds. So I ask you, my dear brothers, to have a strong faith in God and maybe your prayers will help the effort to rid our country of occupiers.”

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Special correspondents Saif Rasheed and Raheem Salman contributed to this report.