The above, noted by Lloyd, is from Joshua Partlow's "Attacks Kill 14 U.S. Soldiers in Iraq" (Washington Post). Alexandra Zavis and Garrett Therolf's "14 U.S. troops reported killed in Iraq" (Los Angeles Times) notes:
The U.S. military on Sunday announced the deaths of 14 soldiers in the last three days, a heavy toll that underscored the increased exposure of American forces as reinforcements push deeper into war-torn neighborhoods of Baghdad and outlying areas in a bid to flush out militants.
Northeast of the Iraqi capital, a car bomb exploded about 200 yards from the entrance of a U.S. military base, unleashing a noxious cloud of chlorine gas that sickened at least 62 soldiers but caused no injuries, the military said. All of those exposed returned to duty the same day.
The use of chlorine to turn an ordinary bomb into a chemical weapon has become a signature tactic of insurgents fighting U.S. and Iraqi forces in Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad. But Sunday's attack was believed to be the first time the method was used in Diyala province.
At least 62 Iraqis were found dead or reported killed in bomb blasts, gunfights and other violence across the country, including a priest and three bishops slain by gunmen in the northern city of Mosul.
And in the Times of New York, Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Khalid W. Hassan's "14 More American Servicemen Are Killed in Iraq, Most of Them by Makeshift Bombs:"
The rising pace of American troops deaths escalated this weekend as 14 more servicemen were reported killed in Iraq, all but one from makeshift bombs that insurgents have been employing with greater lethality against American soldiers and armored vehicles. Twenty-one soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter were wounded.
As noted last night, ICCC's count is 17 dead since the start of June and before someone e-mails about that count, Martha notes an update by Joshua Partlow entitled "Attacks Kill 17 U.S. Soldiers in Iraq" (Washington Post):
A car bomb attack outside a major U.S. military base in Iraq discharged a gaseous cloud that sickened dozens of people Sunday, punctuating a flurry of violence that left 16 American soldiers dead during the first three days of June.
A 17th U.S. soldier, Staff Sgt. Juan Campos, died Friday in a military hospital in Texas, according to local news reports there. He had been injured by a roadside bomb near Baghdad in May.
On the front page of the New York Times, David S. Cloud and Damien Cave's "Push In Baghdad Is Short Of Goal, Commanders Say" reports on a one page (US military) assessment of the escalation which found that of the 457 neighborhoods in Baghdad, only 146 can be said to be under 'control' (US and Iraqi troops "maintain physical influence over").
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