At least four Iraqi civilians, including an 11-year-old boy, have been killed in the most recent bloodshed in Iraq.
A mortar attack in the northern town of Kirkuk late on Sunday killed two people and wounded six. Residents said three shells landed in a residential area where youths were gathering. A local doctor confirmed two had died.
Also on Sunday night, witnesses said an 11-year-old Iraqi boy was killed near Falluja after getting caught in a firefight between US troops and insurgents. The boy was buried today by 400 Iraqis, many shouting Islamic slogans.
An Iraqi man was killed and seven people were wounded Baquba town, northeast of Baghdad, when a roadside bomb hit their bus just after a convoy carrying members of Iraq's civilian defence force drove by, residents said.Eighteen Americans died in guerrilla attacks in Iraq yesterday, including 15 soldiers killed when insurgents shot down their Chinook helicopter near the flashpoint town of Falluja. A further 21 were wounded.
Early today, 18 of the wounded arrived at the US Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.
Sunday was the second deadliest day overall for Americans in Iraq since the war started on March 20th, after 28 soldiers were killed in various attacks on March 23rd. At least 250 US soldiers have died from hostile fire since the invasion.
Besides the dead on board the helicopter, one US soldier was killed on Sunday in a bomb attack in Baghdad and two American civilian contractors died in a roadside mine blast in Falluja, west of Baghdad.
President Bush has vowed the United States will not retreat, and he continues to cite his Iraq policy as an accomplishment.
Mr Bush said on Saturday that leaving Iraq prematurely would strengthen the "terrorists" he blamed for recent suicide bombings. He had no comment after the downing of the helicopter.