US forces' darkest day as 36 troops die

MATT SPETALNICK
IN BAGHDAD

UNITED States forces suffered their deadliest day yet in Iraq yesterday, when 31 marines died in a helicopter crash and five other American troops were killed in attacks across the country.

The transport helicopter came down in the desert of western Iraq near the town of Rutba, close to the Jordanian border, killing all on board.

The cause of the crash remained unclear, although some reports suggested the CH-53 Sea Stallion, which was carrying personnel from the 1st Marine Division, came down in a sandstorm.

A search and rescue team was at the site last night and an investigation into what caused the crash was under way.

George Bush, the US president, expressed sorrow at the loss of life and said he knew Americans would find the new deaths discouraging.

The previous deadliest day for US forces was 23 March, 2003, the third day of the war, when 28 US soldiers died - mostly in fierce fighting in southern Iraq.

The worst single incident for US troops was also a helicopter crash. In November 2004, two Black Hawk helicopters collided while trying to avoid ground fire, killing 17 service members. The US military has lost at least 33 helicopters since the start of the war.

Four more US marines were killed in the Anbar province of western Iraq yesterday, and an American soldier died in a rocket attack north of Baghdad.

Mr Bush yesterday urged Iraqis not to be deterred from voting by the latest outbreak of violence in the country.

Calling the election a "grand moment in Iraqi history", the US president said: "I urge all people to vote. I urge people to defy the terrorists ... they have no clear view of a better future. They’re afraid of a free society."

With only three days remaining before the election, guerrillas carried out a string of attacks yesterday, targeting political groups and voting sites.

A truck bomb exploded near the offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the northwestern Iraqi town of Sinjar, killing at least 15 people and wounding 30, the local mayor said.

Earlier in the day, gunmen opened fire with machine-guns on the local headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Communist Party in the city of Baquba, north of Baghdad, killing a traffic policeman.

Insurgents set off three car bombs in rapid succession in the town of Riyadh, north of Baghdad, killing at least five people - including three policemen.

Four US soldiers were injured in a car bombing in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, the US command said.

Another car bomb targeted a multinational forces convoy on the road to Baghdad’s international airport, injuring four soldiers.

In the northern city of Mosul, a video filmed by insurgents showed three Iraqi men who had apparently been taken hostage and who said they worked for Iraq’s electoral commission.