Three U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Three U.S. soldiers were killed Sunday in separate attacks on their military convoys in Iraq, according to the U.S. military.

Two soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were killed Sunday when their convoy came under attack by small-arms fire in the northern town of Mosul, according to a U.S. Army spokesman.

After the deaths, witnesses told CNN the soldiers had their throats cut and were stripped of personal effects after they had been shot and wounded while riding in a civilian vehicle. But further investigation by CNN casts doubt on the allegations.

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt would not comment on the details of the incident. "We have an ongoing investigation, and we're not going to get ghoulish about this."

Another U.S. soldier was killed and two were wounded Sunday morning near Ba'qubah, north of Baghdad, when a military convoy hit a roadside bomb, according to a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division.

The wounded soldiers are in a stable condition, the spokesman said.

In addition, vehicle accidents claimed the lives of three other soldiers Friday and Saturday, and Iraqi sources said an Iraqi police colonel charged with security at oil installations was shot and killed in northern Iraq.

The deaths bring the total number of U.S. soldiers killed in the Iraq war to 432 -- 300 of them under hostile conditions.

Since May 1, when President Bush declared the end of major combat operations, 290 U.S. troops have died, 185 from hostile fire.

Despite the losses, Kimmitt said the guerrilla attacks are not having a major impact on the occupation forces' mission in Iraq.

"This is a enemy that cannot defeat us militarily, and in engagement after engagement, we see the enemy breaking off, running away," he told reporters.

No reliable estimate of Iraqi deaths over the course of the conflict is available. The Associated Press reported an estimated 3,240 civilian Iraqi deaths between March 20 and April 20, but the AP said the figure was based on records of only half of Iraq's hospitals and that the actual number was thought to be significantly higher.

Civilian flights suspended after missile attack
U.S. authorities in Iraq suspended civilian flights into Baghdad's international airport Sunday after a cargo plane was damaged by a surface-to-air missile over the weekend.

Military air traffic into Baghdad will continue, Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman Dan Senor said.

A DHL flight was struck by a surface-to-air missile shortly after takeoff Saturday from Baghdad, military officials said. The missile struck one of the jet's engines, and the aircraft returned safely to the airport, its left wing ablaze. No one was hurt. (Full story)

The U.S. Air Force is conducting an investigation into the attack, Kimmitt said.

DHL and passenger carrier Royal Jordanian Airlines are the only companies flying into Baghdad.

Other Developments
• An explosion at an oil compound near the northern city of Kirkuk injured four employees Saturday night, according to Iraqi Northern Oil Co. spokesman Mike McAleer. A preliminary investigation indicated that the blast at the oil company's Baba Cultural Social Club was caused by a bomb, McAleer said.

• Iraqi civilians flagged down an Iraqi Railroad train early Sunday to prevent it from approaching an improvised explosive device placed on the tracks near the town of Iskandariyah, south of Baghdad. Central Command said the bomb was made of three 155mm artillery rounds linked together. An ordnance disposal team attached to the 82nd Airborne Division disarmed the device, and the rail line reopened.

-- CNN correspondents Jane Arraf and Walter Rodgers contributed to this report.