July 15, 2003	Tuesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 14, 1424

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BAGHDAD, July 14: The United States lost its 32nd soldier in postwar combat in Iraq on Monday, underscoring the hardships a US-backed Governing Council faced in quashing Iraqi resentment as it began work choosing a leader.

A group which said it was an Iraqi branch of the Al Qaeda network claimed responsibility for attacks on United States soldiers in an audio tape broadcast on Sunday but its rhetoric was more reminiscent of former president Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party than Osama bin Laden’s group.

The US military is braced for a surge in attacks this week to coincide with anniversaries linked to Saddam, his Baath Party and Iraqi nationalism.

In the latest incident, assailants targeted a convoy of military vehicles in the central Al-Mansour area of Baghdad at around 6am (0700am PST), a military spokesman said.

Witnesses said one vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and another by machinegun fire. Blood stains on an armoured Humvee vehicle and the crumpled cab of an army truck bore testament to the attack.

Dozens of United States troops searched the area as helicopters hovered above.—Reuters