Baghdad Burning

After a Bush visit, al-Zarqawi's death and 4 days of an Iraqi security crackdown whats changed... nothing. One U.S. soldier was killed two others were missing after an attack on a checkpoint. 7 explosions hit Baghdad within 5 hours By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 58 minutes ago BAGHDAD, Iraq - A series of explosions struck commercial areas in Baghdad within hours Saturday, killing at least 17 people and dealing a blow to a huge government operation to secure the capital. The blasts — seven within five hours — brought the death toll around Iraq to at least 23 people. The bombings also wounded at least 72. A day earlier, a suspected shoe bomber blew himself up inside one of Baghdad's most prominent Shiite mosques, killing 13 people. The U.S. military said a soldier was killed Friday and two others were missing after an attack on a checkpoint near Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad. The area is known as the "Triangle of Death" because of frequent ambushes and attacks against U.S. soldiers and Iraqi troops. "We are currently using every means at our disposal — on the ground, in the air and in the water — to find them," military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said.