Baghdad blast kills 2 U.S. soldiers
American forces capture top official from Saddam's regime
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Iraqis work at a construction site Sunday in downtown Baghdad.
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SPECIAL REPORT
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Two U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi translator were killed Monday when their convoy struck an improvised explosive device along a road in Baghdad, U.S. Central Command said.
Two other soldiers in the 1st Armored Division patrol were wounded and evacuated to a hospital, Central Command said.
At least one convoy vehicle was disabled in the blast near a gas station in the Adhamiya neighborhood of the Iraqi capital, officials said. Quick-reaction forces swept the area looking for suspects, they said.
On Sunday, the U.S. military said a new operation was under way targeting anti-coalition insurgents. More than 100 suspects were captured, and arms caches were confiscated, a military spokeswoman said.
As part of Operation Rifles Fury, the Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment joined up with the 82nd Airborne Division's Task Force All American, 4th Infantry Division's Operation Ironhorse and other units chasing insurgents, the spokeswoman said.
In western Iraq near the Syrian border, Operation Rifles Fury also sought to destroy "terrorist training camps" in the Rawah area, the spokeswoman said.
The 3rd Cavalry sweep netted 11 "high-value targets" and detained 70 others for questioning, she said.
In Ba'qubah, north of Baghdad, U.S. forces captured a former high-level official from Saddam Hussein's regime, a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division said Monday. Master Sgt. Robert Cargie declined to confirm the man's name or position.
A week after his capture, Saddam remains uncooperative, according to U.S. Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "Defiant is probably a good word," Myers told CNN's "Late Edition" on Sunday.
But documents found in the ousted leader's possession at the time of his arrest have shed light into the Iraqi insurgent movement, said the chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee.
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, said the materials "gave us an insight on the intelligence side on how these cells are operating." The insurgent cells "largely came from the Baath Party and specific places in the Baath Party," Roberts said.
Myers told "Fox News Sunday" that U.S. forces had picked up "more than several hundred" insurgents since Saddam's arrest.
"The information gleaned when we picked up Saddam Hussein led to a better understanding of the structure [of the insurgency]," said Myers, who recently returned from Iraq. "We think there are some of the leadership of this insurgency [that have been caught up in the sweep]."
Myers also said that the United States was committed to maintaining at least 100,000 troops in Iraq through the end of next year.
Other developments
• Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesman Issam Jassim said Sunday that insurgents had hit gasoline supply lines near Baghdad overnight Friday. One attack targeted a pipeline in Mishada, more than 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Baghdad, and a rocket-propelled grenade struck a line south of the capital, according to Jassim. About 2.6 million gallons of gas were lost in the second attack, Jassim said, but he had no figures for the Mishada strike. A fuel storage facility also went up in a blaze Sunday, but officials could not say if insurgents were responsible.
• Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar made a brief visit this weekend to 1,300 Spanish peacekeeping troops in southern Iraq. For security reasons, the trip was kept secret until after the Spanish leader's party arrived in Iraq, Aznar's office told CNN's Spanish-based sister network. (Full story)
CNN's Karl Penhaul contributed to this report.
