Two U.S. Soldiers Killed In Iraq Suicide Bombings

December 4, 2008 7:53 p.m. EST

Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - Four bomb explosions hit three cities in Iraq killing 20 people, including two U.S. soldiers, on Thursday, when the Iraqi government officially approved a new security pact with Washington.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden car near a checkpoint in the northern city of Mosul killing the two Americans, according to a U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Doherty. Iraqi police said eight civilians were also injured.

Suicide bombers in separate trucks crashed into the concrete barriers outside two police stations in Fallujah in Anbar province killing 15 people, mostly policemen, and wounding 100 others. Homes and nearby buildings were shattered by the powerful explosions.

In Baquoba, capital of Diyala province, a bomb planted on a motorcycle exploded in front of a restaurant killing three people and injuring 10, security officials said.

The bombings occurred when the Presidential Council approved the new Iraq-U.S. security pact that sets a 2011 deadline for the total withdrawal of American troops in Iraq. The pact, which takes effect Jan. 1, also provides for a July 2009 referendum on the agreement earlier approved by the cabinet and parliament.

The White House welcomed the final approval of the controversial pact with President Bush thanking Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani over the phone.