Military

DATE=11/9/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=IRAQ / VIOLENCE (L-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-309612

BYLINE=GREG LAMOTTE

DATELINE=BAGHDAD

CONTENT=

INTRO: An American soldier has been killed in Baghdad and U-S military operations continue in Saddam Hussein's hometown aimed at rooting out anti-coalition forces. V-O-A's Greg LaMotte is in Baghdad with the latest details.

TEXT: In what is now seemingly a daily occurrence in Iraq, a U-S soldier was killed and another wounded after their vehicle hit a roadside bomb.

U-S military officials said Sunday the soldiers were part of the 1st Armored Division patrolling central Baghdad when the bomb exploded late Saturday night.

In the southern Iraqi city of Basra, another soldier was wounded - this time a British soldier. U-S military officials say the soldier was injured when a bomb planted near a hospital was detonated as a British patrol was passing by.

In Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit north of Baghdad, U-S military personnel continue to conduct operations aimed at rooting out anti-coalition militants.

On Saturday morning three bombs were dropped by F-16 fighter planes on targets thought to be hideouts of anti-coalition forces. It was the first coalition aircraft bombing raids in Iraq since major combat operations ended May 1st.

The attack occurred one day after a U-S Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed near Tikrit, killing all six American soldiers aboard the aircraft.

In Baghdad Sunday, Iraq's interim foreign minister (Hoshiyar Zebari) said the U-S-appointed Iraqi Governing Council would go into intensive discussions to draw up a road map for the creation of an Iraqi constitution that will pave the way for general elections.

The United Nations Security Council has mandated that the Governing Council come up with a timetable for the creation of a constitution by December 15th.

The foreign minister said it is now up to the council to deliver.

Meanwhile, it was widely reported in Kuwait Sunday that the emirate is attempting to shut down a portion of its northern border with Iraq to cut down on smuggling and illegal entry into Kuwait.

The move is also seen as an attempt to beef up security along the border in advance of next month's scheduled meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Kuwait City.

Several Kuwaiti newspapers said the area had been patrolled by U-N peacekeepers until last month when the United Nations decided Iraq no longer posed a major threat to its neighbors in Kuwait. (Signed)

NEB/GL/ALW/KBK