The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Baghdad

Violence reportedly killed at least 42 people in Iraq after the deadliest day for U.S. troops in precisely six months.

The U.S. military, however, disputed claims that 16 passengers on a bus hit by a roadside bomb in southern Iraq were killed, saying no one died in the attack, which was targeting a passing military convoy. The U.S. military announced Tuesday that three American soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad on Monday, bringing to eight the number of troops who died that day. The last time so many U.S. military personnel were killed in Iraq was Sept. 10, when 10 died.

Bloodshed has increased recently, despite what the military said has been a 60 percent drop in attacks across Iraq since June. Last Thursday, two massive bombs killed 68 people in Baghdad's Karradah neighborhood. On March 3, two car bombings killed 24 people in the capital.