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BAQOUBA, Iraq (AP) - The U.S. military handed security responsibility back to local leaders in the nearby town of Buhriz on Sunday after hammering Sunni Muslim insurgents in three days of clashes that killed 19 militants and one U.S. soldier. The deal calls for American troops to pull back, and for Iraqi police to step in and establish security in the town of 40,000, U.S. military officials said. Similar arrangements have been reached in Najaf, Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq where the Americans have stepped aside and allowed Iraqi forces to assume greater security roles after clashes with insurgents. That...

BAQOUBA, Iraq -- Insurgents clashed with U.S. forces near this city northeast of Baghdad on Friday for the second time in as many days, U.S. military officials said.

BAQOUBA, Iraq (AP) — Insurgents attacked American troops and Iraqi security forces north of Baghdad, sparking fierce overnight battles that killed at least 40 Iraqis and wounded several soldiers, a U.S. military spokesman said Saturday. The fighting in Baqouba, 30 miles northeast of Baghdad, began with simultaneous rocket attacks late Friday on an Iraqi police station, the governor's office and a compound housing the U.S. military's civil affairs office, said Capt. Issam Bornales, spokesman for the 1st Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade. The assailants opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades and rifles, sparking small fires in each location. Fighting quickly spread throughout...

The Associated Press 4/7/04 8:01 AM BAQOUBA, Iraq (AP) -- A U.S. military helicopter crashed Wednesday and was seen burning on the ground in central Iraqi city of Baqouba, where Shiite militiamen and U.S. troops were battling, a witness said. There was no immediate word on casualties. The helicopter crashed immediately after an explosion was heard, according to an AP photographer at the site. He saw the helicopter on the ground in flames. U.S. troops closed off the site. It was not immediately known what caused the crash. U.S. troops and Shiite militiamen clashed Wednesday in Baqouba, 30 miles northeast...

Explosion hits Iraqi security patrol north of Baghdad, witnesses say fear many casualties (Reuters)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Iraqi insurgents shelled a base northeast of Baghdad, killing two U.S. soldiers and wounding four, the military said Friday. The insurgents fired mortars that hit the base around 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, Maj. Josslyn Aberle of the 4th Infantry Division said. Two soldiers were evacuated for medical care but died of their wounds, she said. The four others did not have life-threatening injuries. Baqouba is 30 miles northeast of Baghdad.

BAQOUBA, Iraq (AP) - Iraqi police say they are underpaid, poorly armed and lack equipment to protect themselves from increasing attacks by insurgents. Frequently branded as collaborators with the U.S. occupation, many police resent the Americans and some even express sympathy for the guerrillas. The recent surge in attacks on Iraqi police followed a decision by the U.S. command to aggressively pursue insurgents before they can strike. Nine police were among the 12 Iraqis killed in car bombings last weekend at police stations in Baqouba and nearby Khan Bani Saad. Two senior police commanders were killed last weekend in Mosul...

BAQOUBA, Iraq - Iraqi police say they are underpaid, poorly armed and lack equipment to protect themselves from increasing attacks by insurgents. Frequently branded as collaborators with the U.S. occupation, many police resent the Americans and some even express sympathy for the guerrillas. The recent surge in attacks on Iraqi police followed a decision by the U.S. command to aggressively pursue insurgents before they can strike. Nine police were among the 12 Iraqis killed in car bombings last weekend at police stations in Baqouba and nearby Khan Bani Saad. Two senior police commanders were killed last weekend in Mosul and...

<p>KHAN BANI SAAD, Iraq  — Iraqi police stations in Baqouba (search) and Khan Bani Saad (search) came under attack on Saturday, killing at least 14, the U.S. military and Iraqi officials said.</p> <p>Also Saturday, a DHL commercial cargo plane with its wing on fire landed safely at Baghdad International Airport (search) with no reported injuries. Reuters news service reported that the plane had been struck with a surface-to-air missile, but the U.S. military said it was unclear if it had been struck by ground fire or suffered a technical problem.</p>

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A car bomb exploded near a police station in the town of Baqouba on Saturday, wounding at least six people, the U.S. military said. No members of the U.S.-led coalition were hurt in the morning rush hour attack, a spokeswoman said. The town, about 35 miles northeast of the capital, is part of the so-called Sunni Triangle that has seen fierce resistance to the U.S.-led occupation. Insurgents have increasingly targeted Iraqis collaborating with the U.S.-led occupation forces in recent weeks, including police, government officials and community leaders.

By SABAH JERGES, Associated Press Writer The U.S. Air Force used some of the largest weapons in its inventory to attack targets in central Iraq in an escalating crackdown on suspected guerrilla strongholds, the military said Wednesday. A pair of 2,000-pound satellite-guided bombs were dropped late Tuesday near Baqouba, 30 miles northeast of Baghdad, on "camps suspected to have been used for bomb-making," said Maj. Gordon Tate, a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division. Near the northern city of Kirkuk, fighter-bombers dropped 1,000-pound bombs on "terrorist targets," he said without elaborating. It was unclear whether the airstrikes caused any casualties,...