Iraq Notebook
U.S. soldier dies as bomb hits convoy near Baghdad

By Seattle Times news services

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BAGHDAD, Iraq — A U.S. soldier was killed and another injured by a roadside bomb when his convoy was hit while traveling in the Baghdad area, the U.S. military said today.

The statement gave no further details. The soldier's name was withheld pending notification of his family.

A total of 774 U.S. service members have died in Iraq since the beginning of military operations last year, according to The Department of Defense. Of those, 564 died as a result of hostile action and 210 died of non-hostile causes.

In other developments:

• The Philippines will review the security of some 3,000 of its nationals in Iraq after a Filipino civilian was killed in a mortar attack, officials said yesterday.

Initially, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said four of her countrymen were killed in the attack on the U.S. military camp at Balad, north of Baghdad, on Tuesday night, but her spokesman later said only one person was killed.

The Philippines has about 100 police, soldiers and medical personnel assisting in reconstruction efforts in Iraq, in addition to 3,000 civilians working there.

Arroyo, who faces weeks of vote counting to confirm whether she keeps her job following national elections May 10, said last month she was considering withdrawing the contingent of peacekeepers. She later decided to keep the team in place for now.

• Two Russians seized in Iraq on Monday are apparently alive and well and could be released today, their employer said yesterday.

The men were captured and a colleague was killed when their car came under fire as they were driving home Monday. A spokesman for the firm, Interenergoservis, which is involved in a power-plant project outside Baghdad, said it and the Russian embassy in Baghdad were holding talks with Iraqi religious leaders.
 
• Russia wants the U.N. Security Council to adopt two resolutions on Iraq before the June 30 transfer of power so the new caretaker government can advise on economic and military issues.

Moscow is looking for the first resolution after U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi announces the makeup of the interim government. Those leaders would then be consulted on a more substantive resolution about security arrangements, the economy, and the U.N. role after the handover, diplomats said.

The 15 Security Council members held an informal discussion yesterday — their second — about elements of a resolution, and diplomats said the possibility of a two-step approach was raised.

No draft is expected until after Brahimi returns from his current trip to Iraq with recommendations on a transitional government that will take over from the U.S.-led coalition.