BAGHDAD - An al-Qaida-linked suicide bomber blew up his vehicle Monday near cars waiting to enter the Green Zone, home to the U.S. Embassy and Iraq's interim government, killing 13 Iraqis on the anniversary of Saddam Hussein's capture.

American and Iraqi leaders had hoped the ouster of Saddam, who was captured one year ago Monday on a farm near his hometown of Tikrit, and the detention or death of most of his top aides would deal the insurgency a knockout blow.

But the uprising has escalated, and the number of attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces has risen steadily. About 550 U.S. soldiers died in the first year after the invasion's start; almost 750 troops have died in the nine months that followed.

Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq group claimed responsibility for Monday's deadly attack in central Baghdad, which also wounded 15 people. No U.S. troops were injured.

The attack Monday followed the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Iraq since the assault on Fallujah ended last month. Early today, the military reported two more U.S. Marines killed in action in Iraq's volatile western Anbar province, taking the number of Marines killed in the region in the past three days to 10.

On The Net

http://www.azcentral.com