The U.S. military in Iraq has reported the deaths of two more American soldiers, raising the number of troops killed in the country this month to 103.
A military statement says one U.S. soldier was killed by small arms fire during a battle in western Baghdad on Monday. Another soldier died the same day when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb south of the Iraqi capital.
October has been the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq since January 2005, when 106 soldiers were killed.
Violence continued Tuesday in Baghdad, with a car bomb killing three civilians on Palestine Street, near Beirut Square in the city center.
On Monday, insurgents killed more than 70 people across Iraq. In the deadliest attack, a bomb killed at least 30 Shi'ite laborers as they waited for jobs in Baghdad's Sadr City district.
In another development, U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley visited Baghdad on Monday for talks on military and political cooperation with the Iraqi government.
Hadley, who is President Bush's chief security advisor, met with Iraq's prime minister Nouri al-Maliki and other top officials.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.