European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 20, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday March 20 2007 Tarsan stripes pages 7 More troops killed across Iraq 4 die in single Roadside bombing in Western Baghdad by Lauren prayer the associated press Baghdad the us military on sunday announced the deaths of seven More troops in Iraq including four killed by a Roadside bomb while patrolling Western latest american casualties in a monthlong Security crackdown in the capital after the explosion that killed four us sol Diers on saturday the unit came under fire and another Soldier was wounded during this months crackdown in the capital the Battal Ion had found eight weapons caches and two Roadside bombs and helped Rescue a Kidnap victim the military said an explosion in Dyala province Northeast of Baghdad killed another Soldier saturday and injured five a us Marine also was killed saturday i fighting in Anbar according to a separate statement a seventh service Niem Ber died saturday in a noncombat related Inci Dent the military said though violence has receded slightly in the capital a car bomb killed eight iraqis on Sun Day in a predominantly shiite District police said the attack targeted people cooking food at open air grills in the Street to offer As Chari to on a shiite Muslim Holiday commemorating the anniversary of the Prophet muhammads death police said 28 others were wounded in the attack a us official meanwhile blamed Al Aida in Iraq for chlorine bomb attacks that struck villagers in Anbar province last week but said tight iraqi Security measures prevented a higher number of casualties the attacks killed at least two people and sickened 350 iraqi civilians and six us troops the us Mil itary said saturday us military spokesman rear adm Mark a television in this image taken from television a us army vehicle bums in an Eastern suburb of Baghdad on sunday reportedly after having been attacked by insurgents there was no official comment on the attack by us officials Fox said at least one of the attackers detonated his explosives after he was unable to get past an iraqi police checkpoint in Amariyah just South of fal Lujah killing Only himself Fox conceded that Many iraqis were exposed to the chemical fumes but insisted that Steps taken by the iraqi Security forces were increasingly effective insurgent attempts to create High profile carnage Are being stopped at checkpoints across the country he said at a news Confer ence in Baghdad iraqi government spokes Man Ali Aldabbagh appealed to iraqis to help Stop the violence there is a growing Power struggle Between insurgents and sunnis who oppose them in Anbar the Center of the insurgency which stretches from Baghdad to the Borders with Syria saudi Arabia and Jordan the Anbar assaults came three Days after prime minister Nouri Almalik a shiite trav eled there hoping to reach out to sunni clan chiefs and to undermine tribal support for the insurgency meanwhile the us military said american troops captured 12 suspected militants Sun Day in raids across Iraq All accused of plot Ting attacks on us troops Gates writes to families of War dead the associated press Washington nearly every evening defense Secre tary Robert Gates takes up a sad task adding a few sentences to letters to the families of us troops killed in Iraq i guess its because i feel a personal responsibility for each one of these men and women who have made the ultimate Sacri fice for our country Gates said sunday on face the nation on lbs and its is a Small Ges Ture to the families that i person ally am involved and that i personally very much care and have great sorrow Over the sacrifice that their son or daughter or Hus band or wife has made he said his predecessor Donald h Rumsfeld began signing Condo Lence letters after he was criticized by democratic and Republican members of Congress in 2004 for using a signature machine Rumsfeld cited the inter est of ensuring expeditious con tact with grieving family Mem Bers in explaining Why he had not been personally signing the letters Gates said his letters Are typed but i always add three or four lines in of Handwritten personal feelings at the end Gates who wants to murder a millionaire grab a clue jump into the cast of suspects on who wants to murder a millionaire a theatrical with a troupe of actors who put you through a True crime scene investigation was it the professor with a candlestick in the Green room you decide entertainment Katsugi officer club sat mar 24 cocktails 6 pm dinner 7 pm All hand adults Only tickets Are on Sale at the Naf Katsugi officers club front desk 2643620 dinner beef inside round smoked Turkey cajun baked fish shrimp cocktail pasta garlic mashed potatoes Broccoli sauce sauteed peppers vegetables salad bar Home made breads chocolate Fountain dessert assortment us officials deny Taliban attack plan by Joseph Giordono stars and stripes the us military is discount ing claims by the Taliban that they have shot Down a us Mili tary helicopter in Afghanistan according to a news release on sunday Taliban officials posted the claim on an extremist web site on saturday the posting claimed that a helicopter was shot Down in Nuristani province on Fri Day however no reports of a downed aircraft have been made by coalition forces and no troops Are missing us officials said sunday Over the weekend reports continued to detail a near catastrophe in attack on an australian Mili tary helicopter in Southern Afghanistan last week on March 12 a helicopter carrying australian troops and journalists was nearly struck by a rocket propelled grenade fired from the ground according to television news footage of fhe at tack the grenade missed the Heli copter by about 20 Yards the helicopter also was targeted by heavy machine gun fire from a Village helicopter Crew members apparently were unaware of the at tack at the time there was a Long series of bursts three four five rounds each he knew what he was doing he worked us Over John Hunter Farrell publisher of an australian defense Magazine was quoted As saying of the gun Ner on the ground i got out of the helicopter and said we were engaged by a heavy machine gun and they All made fun of me they thought i was being silly the helicopter was flying be tween Tarin Kowt and Kandahar at the time of the attack officials said a us army Chinook and an Apache attack helicopter also were part of the flight the officials said the last us military helicopter to go Down in Afghanistan crashed feb 18 in Southern Afghanistan in Zabul province in that incident eight american service members were killed and 14 were injured the crash was not believed to be caused by enemy fire email Joseph Giordono at