The U.S. military says about t3,200 American troops (from the 82nd Airborne Division) have arrived in Baghdad as the first part of a military buildup to help Iraqi security forces fight sectarian violence.
The brigade is to be fully operational by February first. The troops are the first of an estimated 17,000 reinforcements to be sent to Baghdad as part of President Bush's new strategy to stabilize the city.
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Violence continued in the capital Sunday. Iraqi police say two bomb blasts in Baghdad killed at least seven people and wounded about 20.
In the first attack, a bomb killed six people on a minibus in central Baghdad. Later, a car bomb went off in eastern Baghdad, killing one person.
Elsewhere, the British military says a roadside bomb killed one British soldier near the southern city of Basra.
On Saturday, 19 American troops were killed in Iraq, including 12 on a Blackhawk transport helicopter that crashed northeast of Baghdad.
The military is investigating the cause of the crash, which killed everyone on board.
Saturday was one of the deadliest days for U.S. forces since the war began in 2003.
Five American soldiers were killed in the Shi'ite holy city of Karbala as militia fighters attacked a provincial government building with grenades and small arms.
A U.S. spokesman (Brigadier General Vincent Brooks) says the attack occurred as American and Iraqi military officials were meeting to discuss security arrangements for pilgrims arriving in Karbala for a Shi'ite festival Ashura.
The U.S. military says another two American soldiers were killed Saturday in roadside bombings.