A roadside bomb aimed at a U.S. military convoy in Iraq's Triangle of Death hit a minibus instead Wednesday, killing five Iraqis and wounding six, police said. The U.S. command announced that it is stepping up counterinsurgency training for newly arrived officers to give them the latest tactics about protecting patrols from such attacks. At least 93 American service members died during October, making it the fourth deadliest month for the troops in the Iraq war. Many of the victims were killed by homemade bombs that the Pentagon has confirmed are becoming more powerful and technologically sophisticated. The deaths raised to at least 2,026 the number of members of the U.S. military who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. At 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, a roadside bomb targeting an American military patrol exploded on a two-lane highway in Jurf al Naddaf, a town just south of Baghdad, said police Lt. Col. Sabah Hussein. The blast hit a private minibus that was traveling behind the convoy, killing five Iraqis and wounding six, Hussein said.
