Insurgents Kill U.S. Paratroopers in Iraq

By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents killed two U.S. paratroopers and wounded another west of Baghdad on Saturday as the U.S. military cracked down on residents of Saddam Hussein's hometown after guerrillas apparently shot down a Black Hawk helicopter there.

The two 82nd Airborne Division soldiers died when a homemade bomb exploded beside their vehicle about 8:30 a.m. in Fallujah, a center of Sunni Muslim resistance 40 miles west of Baghdad, the military said.

Their deaths brought to 34 the number of American soldiers who have died in Iraq this month as resistance escalated during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

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