BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three U.S. soldiers were killed during combat operations on Thursday in western Anbar province, an al Qaeda stronghold in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Monday.

No other details were available about the deaths, which took to 3,651 the number of U.S. soldiers killed since the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.

NEARLY 1/3 OF IRAQIS IN NEED OF AID

Nearly a third of the population of Iraq is in need of immediate emergency aid, according to a new report from Oxfam and a coalition of Iraqi NGOs.
The report said the government was failing to provide basics such as food and shelter for eight million people.

It warned of a humanitarian crisis that had escalated since the 2003 invasion.

Meanwhile, the US agency overseeing reconstruction in Iraq said economic mismanagement and corruption were equivalent to “a second insurgency”.

93 SLAIN ACROSS IRAQ IN PAST TWO DAYS

SHIITE SHRINE DESTROYED