Three U.S. troops dead in attack

BAGHDAD – Three U.S. soldiers and an interpreter were killed Monday during fighting north of Baghdad, the military announced.

The combat took place in the Diyala province, an area northeast of Baghdad that remains volatile despite an overall drop in violence nationwide.

The statement did not provide more details.

The attack came two weeks after a suicide car bomber struck a U.S. patrol in the northern city of Mosul, killing four American soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter in the deadliest single attack against U.S. forces in nine months.

Iraq’s Interior Ministry, meanwhile, announced the arrest of a Shiite police gang accused of killing the Sunni vice president’s sister in 2006 as part of a string of kidnappings and slayings.

Spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said the 12 people arrested were former employees of the ministry. The Interior Ministry has been accused of past infiltration by Shiite militias who carried out some of the worst sectarian violence.