Eight Americans Killed in Bombings in Iraq; Death Toll Passes 1,900

Eight Americans were killed in Iraq today in separate bombing incidents including four troops who were killed in the town of Ramadi. As a result of the killing of these four American troops, the number of American troops killed in Iraq has now surpassed 1,900 and stands at 1,904. An estimated 1,483 of them died as a result of hostile fire.

In addition to the troops, three contracted security guards were killed in a suicide car bombing in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul according to an American official. Two other Americans were wounded in the blast.

One U.S. State Department employee was also killed in Mosul. The man was a security agent who worked out of the regional office of the U.S. embassy in Mosul. He worked as a diplomatic security agent.

Meanwhile, controversy continues to swirl around an incident in Basra in which British armored vehicles broke down walls of a jail where two British soldiers were being held in custody. The soldiers were accused of firing at Iraqi policemen. Unrest followed in Basra where people protested the alleged actions of the British soldiers. The British say their men were being held by Iraqi government forces illegally.

Mohammed al-Waili, the governor of Basra province, condemned the British for raiding the prison, an act he called 'barbaric, savage and irresponsible.'

British Defense Minister John Reid defended the action as 'absolutely right.'

Violence in Iraq is expected to increase even further between now and the October 15 referendum on the nation's proposed constitution. Insurgents are expected to do everything they can to disrupt the vote and defeat the new charter.