In other Iraq news, U.S. forces have launched a search for three soldiers missing following an attack that killed four other troops and an Iraqi interpreter. An al-Qaeda-linked group has claimed responsibility and says it’s holding the troops captive. It was one of the deadliest operations against U.S. forces since the three-month-old crackdown on Baghdad.

U.S. military spokesperson Major General William Caldwell: “We have an ongoing effort and policy to find our three soldiers that have a duty status of whereabouts unknown. That is continuing. We’ve got about 4,000 U.S. forces that have been directly associated now with this ongoing effort, and in addition to the forces, and probably more importantly, additional assets in terms of aerial assets and intelligence assets have been redirected and focused again on finding our missing soldiers.”