An American soldier was killed and five were injured early Thursday when they were hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, the US military said, according to AP.
The attack came a day after more than 1,500 troops from the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division moved into Fallujah and surrounding areas to quell increasing attacks on US occupying forces in that region.
Meanwhile, US President Bush argued Thursday the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was justified and pledged that "we'll reveal the truth" on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.
"We've made sure Iraq is not going to serve as an arsenal for terrorist groups," Bush said, as he spoke to soldiers at the command center for the Iraq war in Qatar.
"We're on the look. We'll reveal the truth," Bush said. "But one thing is certain: no terrorist network will gain weapons of mass destruction from the Iraqi regime because the Iraqi regime is no more."
The US leader emphasized the "improvements" the war brought to Iraq. He mentioned the word "freedom" repeatedly and spent little time on the weapons issue.
"The world is now learning what many of you have seen," Bush told the more than 1,000 troops. "They're learning about the mass graves. They're learning about the torture chambers. Because of you, a great evil has been ended. Because of you, the dignity of a great nation is being restored."
Bush blamed Saddam for neglecting his country's infrastructure, without mentioning damage from the war.
"A more just political system will develop when people have food in their stomachs, and their lights work, and they can turn on a faucet and they can find some clean water — things that Saddam Hussein did not do for them," Bush said.
Earlier Thursday, Bush met privately with Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander of all U.S.-led forces in the Persian Gulf and with L. Paul Bremer, the new head of the occupation authority in Iraq, to discuss the progress of Iraqi reconstruction, AP reported.
He also met the emir of Qatar. Bush was the first U.S. president to visit the tiny Persian Gulf nation, and left for Washington immediately afterward.
"You have been a steadfast friend of the United States, and for that we are very grateful," Bush told Emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. (Albawaba.com)
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