U.S. troops are slain in worst of 3 clashes

A human rights group had good and bad observations about coalition troops.
COMBINED DISPATCHES
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. troops patrolling in Sadr City, Baghdad's densely populated Shiite Muslim slum, were attacked Friday with automatic-rifle fire, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and hidden explosives. Five American soldiers were killed and five wounded in the deadliest of three separate clashes.
The attacks in the capital brought the number of U.S. combat deaths in Iraq to 601. The Baghdad fighting was a reminder of the violence that continues here while diplomats make plans at the United Nations for turning over limited authority to an interim government June 30 and restoring momentum to the flagging international reconstruction effort.
First attack
A U.S. military spokeswoman said the first attack occurred in the early morning, with mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades hitting a police station where U.S. soldiers were stationed. Local residents said three Iraqis were killed in the ensuing gunbattle.
Later in the morning, U.S. military vehicles came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles. U.S. soldiers returned fire, the spokeswoman said, but there were no known casualties.
Shortly after muezzins called the faithful to Friday's midday prayer in the strongly Muslim neighborhood, a roadside explosive detonated as U.S. troops in humvees drove by, killing five Americans and wounding five, she reported.
Human rights observations
Meanwhile, the U.N. human rights watchdog credited the U.S.-led coalition Friday with ending years of systematic violations by Saddam Hussein's regime but cited concerns about prisoner abuse by coalition forces and called for a special human rights monitor.
A report by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said the coalition's invasion of Iraq last year "removed a government that preyed on the Iraqi people and committed shocking, systematic and criminal violations of human rights."
In particular, the commission noted Iraqis have greater freedom of expression now than they did under Saddam's regime.
But, the report added, "after the occupation of Iraq by coalition forces there have, sadly, been some violations of human rights, committed by some coalition soldiers."
Acting U.N. human rights chief Bertrand Ramcharan ordered the broad investigation in April, saying he was concerned because Iraq has been unmonitored by the world body since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
The 53-nation U.N. Human Rights Commission scrutinized Iraq for years when Saddam was in power, but the issue was dropped after his ouster last year.
The 45-page report referred specifically to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. The publication of photographs showing U.S. guards abusing and humiliating detainees at the prison erupted into an international scandal in April.
Facing charges
Seven U.S. soldiers face military charges, and the Defense Department said it was investigating more than 40 cases of possible misconduct against civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Governmental leaders of the countries concerned have, at the highest levels, condemned these violations and have pledged to bring those responsible to justice and to uphold the rule of law. It is imperative that this be done, with accountability to the international community," the report said.
It also suggested the coalition should "consider the designation of a high-level international ombudsman to monitor the coalition forces while they remain in Iraq."
Iraq's interim government, set to take over sovereignty June 30 from the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, also must ensure that Iraqis do not face abuses in the future, the report said.
"The serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law that have taken place must not be allowed to recur," it said. "Preventive and protection systems must be put in place."
Believe monitoring's essential
Human rights groups say monitoring is essential because ordinary Iraqis are suffering in the conflict between coalition forces and insurgents.
Activists were disappointed with the results of the report.
"It gratuitously accepts the good intentions of the coalition governments," Reed Brody, spokesman for New York-based Human Rights Watch, told The Associated Press. "This has missed an important opportunity to call the coalition forces to account."
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli noted that the report contained positive elements such as acknowledging that coalition action uprooted Saddam's "criminal" regime and could lead to democracy in Iraq.