Democrats in Congress merged House and Senate versions of an emergency spending bill for Iraq, including a time line to withdraw US troops, despite a veto threat by US President George W. Bush.
A historic veto showdown assured, Democratic leaders agreed Monday on legislation that requires the first U.S. combat troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by Oct. 1 with a goal of a complete pullout six months later.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Iran not to boycott a conference next week of the major countries and parties with a stake in the future of Iraq, at which the United States and Iran would have an opportunity for senior-level talks.
Some of the deadliest attacks and air disasters suffered by U.S. troops in Iraq since the war began in March 2003:
Nine U.S. soldiers were killed on Monday in a suicide bomb attack near their base in Iraq's Diyala province, a U.S. military statement said early on Tuesday.
The bombing, which occurred in Diyala Province, was the most lethal suicide bomb attack on American troops in Iraq since Dec. 21, 2004.
Ignoring the president?s veto threat, Democrats agreed on a war spending bill ordering the administration to begin pulling troops out of Iraq by Oct. 1.
Security should not be an obstacle to investing in Iraq because many parts of the country are not engulfed in violence, a senior U.S. official said Monday.
Congressional Democrats, ignoring a promised veto by President George W. Bush, on Monday pushed ahead with a war funding bill that sets March 31 as the goal for pulling most U.S. troops out of Iraq.
As of Monday, April 23, 2007, at least 3,323 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,693 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.