Car bomb kills 4 U.S. soldiers

Iraq offensive continues BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — U.S. and Iraqi troops battled insurgents house to house Monday, the third day of an assault against al-Qaeda-led insurgents in a town near the Syrian border. The U.S. command reported the first American death in the operation, and four U.S. soldiers were killed when a suicide car bomber attacked their checkpoint south of Baghdad. The latest fighting came as the military said five U.S. members of an elite Army unit have been charged with kicking and punching detainees in Iraq. The charges were issued Saturday against five soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment in connection with a Sept. 7 incident "in which three detainees were allegedly punched and kicked while awaiting movement to a detention facility," the U.S. military said in a statement. (Related: Five soldiers accused of abuse)