Casualties down from early 2006

Visiting senators said the prime minister is committed to Iraqi unity.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Three U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi woman translator were killed in separate attacks Saturday, while the country's largest Sunni Arab party appealed to authorities to end a military crackdown in Sunni villages northeast of Baghdad.
The three Americans were assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which has some attached Army units, and died in fighting in the western province of Anbar, the U.S. military said.
They were the first U.S. fatalities reported in Iraq since Tuesday, raising the number of U.S. personnel killed this month to eight. The average of one death a day is down sharply from a rate of more than two a day in recent months.
Iraqi police said the translator, whose name was not released, was slain in a drive-by shooting in southwestern Baghdad. She worked for the Americans but was off-duty at the time, police Capt. Maithem Abdul-Razaq said.
Interpreters and others working for the Americans have long been targeted by insurgents who accuse them of "collaborating" with "occupation forces."
In a statement Saturday, the Iraqi Islamic Party said U.S. and Iraqi troops had surrounded 15 mostly Sunni villages near Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad, making it difficult for civilians to move around.
Last week, the Iraqi military announced operations in the Muqdadiyah area after an increase in insurgent activity.
The Iraqi Islamic Party is headed by one of Iraq's two vice presidents, Tariq al-Hashimi, who the Americans hope can persuade disaffected fellow Sunnis to abandon the insurgency and participate in political life so the United States can begin withdrawing troops.
Legislators meet PM
Two influential U.S. senators visiting Iraq said they were assured on Saturday by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, that his unity government will reach out to Sunni Arabs and crack down on Shiite militias blamed for much of the country's sectarian violence.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said al-Maliki told them it would be "feasible" to redeploy a small portion of U.S. troops "perhaps this year" because more Iraqi soldiers have been trained and sent into the fight.
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said the prime minister also seems serious about encouraging insurgents to accept amnesty and rejoin the mainstream and "appears to be prepared to take concerted action against militias" blamed for rising sectarian violence.
Iraqi police reported several killings in Baghdad on Saturday, and many seemed tied to the animosities between Shiites and Sunnis.
Gunmen opened fire on a Shiite family trying to move and wounded five people.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.