8 GIs killed in Iraq over 2 days

Eight U.S. soldiers were killed in attacks over two days, military authorities reported Wednesday, and 13 Iraqis died when a bomb exploded near a bus stop during the morning rush hour.

Two soldiers working to capture militants in an eastern neighborhood of Baghdad were killed Wednesday, U.S. military officials said. Two others were killed the same day by an explosion while on patrol in Salahuddin province.

A total of 3,752 U.S. troops have died in the Iraq theater since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, according to the website icasualties.org.

The bomb near the bus stop exploded shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday in Baghdad’s Habibiya neighborhood. The blast injured 13 people, including one man who said he was walking to work and was about 75 yards away when the bomb went off.

“I heard a large boom and for the few seconds I was still conscious, I saw burning cars, and injured and screaming people,” said Mohammed Kadhim, 35. “The next thing I knew, I was in Sadr General Hospital.”

On Tuesday, an armor-piercing bomb killed three U.S. soldiers patrolling in east Baghdad, the military said. Officials have accused Iranian groups of providing the materials and know-how for such bombs.

One more soldier was killed Tuesday during combat operations in west Baghdad. The names of the soldiers reported killed were withheld to give authorities time to notify their kin.