US and Iraq forces kill 90 al Qaeda fighters: seven US soldiers killed

US and Iraqi forces say they have killed 90 al Qaeda fighters around Baghdad during one of the biggest combined offensives against the Sunni Islamist group since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Seven US soldiers were killed in roadside bomb attacks in and around the capital on Saturday, underscoring a warning from military commanders that US casualties are likely to mount as more troops are put in harm's way.
US air strikes on Saturday killed seven suspected al Qaeda fighters in Tikrit in Salahuddin province and near the city of Falluja, west of Baghdad, the US military said in a statement. Thousands of US and Iraqi soldiers are taking part in simultaneous offensives in provinces around Baghdad to deny al Qaeda militants sanctuary in farmlands and towns from where they launch car bomb attacks and other violence.
The US military said on Saturday that 55 al Qaeda militants had been killed in Operation Arrowhead Ripper, a key plank of the combined offensives, which began in and around the city of Baquba in Diyala province on Tuesday.
Another 28 militants have been killed in separate operations in the past several days in Diyala, north of Baghdad, the US military has said. US officials say al Qaeda is trying to spark all-out sectarian civil war in Iraq.
In the worst attack against US soldiers on Saturday, four were killed when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle north-west of Baghdad. The military did not say whether they had been taking part in the offensive. Three others were killed in roadside bomb attacks in Baghdad and Tikrit.
US soldiers have been tightening their cordon around al Qaeda fighters holed up in Baquba, advancing carefully through streets lined with roadside bombs and booby-trapped houses.
The overall offensive around Baquba is expected to last many weeks. US military commanders have said the combined operations were taking advantage of the completion of a build-up of US forces in Iraq to 156,000 soldiers.