BAQUBA (Iraq), July 26: A grenade attack killed three US soldiers guarding a children’s hospital north of Baghdad on Saturday.

A military spokesman said four soldiers from the Fourth Infantry Division were wounded in the attack in Baquba, 50kms north of Baghdad. Eight soldiers have died since US forces killed Saddam Hussein’s sons, Uday and Qusay, on Tuesday.

US officials have warned of a risk of revenge attacks after the deaths of the brothers, though it is not clear whether vengeance is the motive for the assaults of the last few days.

In Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, US troops braced for more bloodshed as Iraqi fighters amplified their campaign.

Soldiers from the Fourth Infantry Division in Tikrit said they were now facing attacks during the day as well as at night, and that guerrillas were getting increasingly bold and confident.—Reuters