Search for 3 missing in attack that killed 5 continues into the night

Above: An Iraqi army soldier crosses one of many canals on a mission with U.S. Army Soldiers outside Mahmudiyah on March 27

BAGHDAD (AP) - U.S. and Iraqi troops searched house-to-house and combed fields with their bare hands Saturday after American troops and their Iraqi interpreter came under attack in the notorious "triangle of death" south of Baghdad , leaving five dead and three missing...

Checkpoints were established throughout the area, while helicopters and jets buzzed overhead. AP Television News footage showed Iraqi soldiers picking through cattails and other weeds as they searched fields and canals for clues.

Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a U.S. military spokesman, said the search would continue throughout the night...

An Iraqi army officer who was familiar with the search said he saw five badly burned bodies inside a Humvee at the site, suggesting the remains may not have been recognizable. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information.

He also said joint U.S.-Iraqi forces had sealed off the area and were conducting house-to-house searches, rounding up dozens of suspects. The military declined to comment on detentions but said troops were looking for suspects.

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5 dead, 3 missing as 7 soldiers and Iraqi interpreter come under attack in Mahmudiyah