US soldiers killed in Iraq

A grenade attack killed three US soldiers guarding a children's hospital north of Baghdad yesterday, the latest ambush in a guerilla war that the killing of Saddam Hussein's sons has failed to check. A military spokesman said four soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division were wounded in the attack in Baquba, 50 km north of Baghdad, in the "Sunni triangle" where American troops have come under frequent attack.

The fatalities brought to 47 the number of US soldiers killed at enemy hands since Washington declared an end to major combat in Iraq on May 1. Eight have died since US forces killed Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay on Tuesday. US officers have warned of a risk of revenge attacks after the deaths of the brothers, though it is not clear whether vengeance is the motive for the assaults of the last few days. US commanders hope the fate of Uday, 39, and his 37-year-old brother Qusay will in time demoralise guerillas, whatever the short-term response.

In Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, US troops braced for more bloodshed as Iraqi fighters amplified their campaign. Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division in Tikrit said they were now facing attacks during the day as well as at night, and that guerillas were increasingly bold and confident.

The attack on soldiers in Baquba illustrated the danger. Residents said an attacker had thrown a grenade from the roof of the hospital in broad daylight yesterday morning. US troops sealed off the building after the attack and barred people from leaving. Everybody inside was being photographed as part of the investigation into the assault.

US officials blame Saddam loyalists for the attacks on American troops, mainly in Baghdad and the Sunni heartland to the north and west. Arab television networks have broadcast pictures of masked men with grenades and assault rifles vowing to strike back for the deaths of Uday and Qusay.

But many Iraqis resent the US occupation and link the violence to anger over the way US troops behave. Between 6,000 and 7,800 Iraqi civilians are believed to have been killed since the war began on March 20, though no precise toll is available. US troops with bulldozers began demolishing the villa in the northern city of Mosul where the brothers were killed, after scouring it for clues on the whereabouts of their father.

After the deaths of his sons, the net might be closing, US commanders say. Acting on a tip-off, they rounded up 13 men near Tikrit on Thursday night. Some were suspected of being bodyguards of Saddam, though officers said it was not certain.

Iraq's biggest selling newspaper, Azzaman, splashed colour photographs of Uday and Qusay's corpses on its front page yesterday, under a headline proclaiming the brothers were dead. US officials hope the pictures and television images of the bodies will convince sceptical Iraqis that Uday and Qusay are dead and staunch the wave of guerilla attacks. One issue is what will happen to the bodies. Muslim tradition demands they be buried quickly, but few in Iraq will want to see their graves become a shrine. They could be discreetly handed to clan elders in Tikrit.