Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

A U.S. defense official has confirmed reports that American special forces attacked a convoy in Iraq last week as part of ongoing efforts to seek out remnants of Saddam Hussein's ousted regime.

The official provided no details about who was in the convoy when it was targeted near the Syrian border.

But the defense official says five Syrian nationals were wounded in the incident, three of whom received treatment from U.S. forces.

He says U.S. forces are at the site of the attack and working to identify those killed. He says DNA testing could be done to identify the dead if needed.

The White House said the strike targeted suspected leaders from the ousted Baghdad government. But U.S. authorities say they have no evidence that toppled leader Saddam Hussein or his two fugitive sons were among those killed.

Meanwhile, an oil official in Iraq says an explosion near the Syrian border has crippled another Iraqi oil pipeline. The official offered few details of Monday's explosion. U.S. investigators are still probing Saturday's blast, which shut down a key fuel pipeline west of Baghdad.

In another development, U.S.-led civil administrators in Iraq say they will begin recruiting next week for a new Iraqi army to replace Saddam Hussein's disbanded forces.

Top American advisor Walter Slocomb said an initial division of 12,000 men will be operational next year, and that the army would grow to about 40,000 in three years.

Mr. Slocomb also said the first payments to former soldiers from Saddam's regime will begin next month.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters.