US forces find five more bodies in northern Iraq

BAGHDAD, Nov 24 (AFP) - The US military said it discovered five more bodies Wednesday in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, where several corpses thought to belong to Iraqi soldiers have been found in recent days.
"Five unidentified bodies were discovered this morning during a routine patrol by US forces on the western side of Mosul," Lieutenant Colonel Paul Hasting told AFP.
He said the bodies had not been identified, and there was no indication as to exactly when they were killed.
The grim discovery comes after the US military -- which is currently staging a vast operation to root out insurgents in the country's third largest city -- found 15 bodies, most of them confirmed to be Iraqi soldiers.
Senior US military officials said the slain soldiers were probably seized on their way to their barracks at a US base, where a 500-strong contingent had been sent to take part in the US-led push, which began last week to wrest the city from rebel control.
Despite the US show of force, rebels have remained active in Mosul, striking mainly Iraqi targets.
Assassinations bids targeted the head of the Iraqi commando force in Mosul Wednesday as well as the province's deputy governor.

11/24/2004 16:15 GMT - AFP