2 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Baghdad Car Bombing

A car bomb struck a U.S. military patrol Saturday in the Iraqi capital, killing two American soldiers and injuring two, the military said.

The names of the troops were not immediately released, and no other details were given.

The blast occurred as Iraq’s defense minister said Iraqi troops backed by U.S. forces detained 131 suspected insurgents and uncovered a massive weapons cache -- including car bombs, mortar rounds and machine guns -- during a joint dawn raid in Musayyib, 35 miles south of Baghdad.

“It was a surprise operation based on intensive surveillance by military intelligence,” Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan said. “It was very successful.”

Some of the detainees planned to attack Shiite Muslims who were expected to head in the coming days to an annual religious celebration in the nearby city of Karbala, Shaalan said.

In other military developments, U.S. officials said they had discovered a 600-foot tunnel leading out of the main prison facility for detainees in Iraq. No one had escaped, Army spokeswoman Maj. Flora Lee said. She did not know when guards discovered the tunnel.

Camp Bucca holds 6,049 detainees, nearly two-thirds of all those in Iraq, Lee said. The prison, near the southern city of Umm al Qasr, is one of three such detention facilities in Iraq.

A bucket cut from a water container and a shovel made of tent material were used to dig the tunnel, Lee said. The opening was under a floorboard and concealed with dirt. Authorities realized a tunnel was being dug after they found dirt in latrines and other places.