Bombings in Northern Iraq Kill 19

Two car bombs targeting police killed seven people in the town of Shurqat, while bombings in the city of Mosul killed four people.

A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, Major General Kevin Bergner, acknowledged that there has been an upturn in violence in recent days, but he said U.S. and Iraqi forces are trying to keep the pressure on extremist networks.

The U.S. military also said an American soldier was killed by small-arms fire while on combat duty Tuesday in Baghdad.

In other developments, the U.S. military said coalition forces killed three suspected al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists and detained eight others during operations in central and northern Iraq Wednesday .

The military also said a wanted terrorist suspect was captured and three others detained during separate operations in Baghdad. - VOA News