Smoke and steam rise from a mass of vehicles destroyed by a car bomb which detonated on the Damascus Interchange near a checkpoint to Baghdad's International Zone, Dec. 4, 2004.
A column of smoke is seen over Baghdad's Green Zone Saturday, Dec 4, 2004. A large explosion and machine gun fire rocked the reas. The explosion occurred at about 9:30 a.m. near the area that houses the offices of the interim Iraqi government and several foreign missions, including the U.S. Embassy.
Men carry a coffin outside Baghdad's Yarmouk hospital, Dec. 3, 2004, of a policeman who was one of at least 16 police officers killed in two major attacks launched by insurgents against two police stations in Baghdad.
An insurgent aims a rocket propelled grenade in Mosul, Dec. 3, 2004. American and Iraqi forces clashed with insurgents in several areas of Mosul, killing at least 11 attackers in a key northern city that has seen a surge in violence recently, officials said.
U.S. Army 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment soldiers search for insurgents in Mosul, Dec. 2, 2004.
The bodies of murdered Iraqi men lie together in a ditch in Mosul, Dec. 2, 2004. Nine bodies were recovered Thursday, including three uniformed Iraqi National Guard soldiers.
Iraqi firefighter sprays a vehicle damaged after a mortar landed on a parking lot in central Baghdad, Dec. 2 2004. At least five mortar rounds exploded in central Baghdad, including two in the Green Zone, the enclave that houses Iraq's interim administration and several foreign embassies.
A column of smoke rises after several mortar rounds exploded in central Baghdad on Dec 2, 2004.
U.S. Army 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry soldiers return fire during a gun battle with insurgents in Mosul, Dec. 1, 2004.
A U.S. Marine stands guard outside a house, Fallujah, Dec. 1, 2004.
U.S. Army 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry, soldiers pursue insurgents during a gun battle in Mosul, Dec. 1, 2004. The fighting started when insurgents, using rockets and small arms, ambushed the U.S. patrol while it was visiting a gas station to discuss the upcoming Iraqi elections with local residents. One U.S. soldier was shot in the leg.
A U.S. Army 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry, soldier returns fire during a gun battle with insurgents in Mosul, Dec. 1, 2004.
U.S. soldiers remove a body after a suicide attack on Baghdad's dangerous airport highway, Dec. 1, 2004. Insurgents frequently target the highway because multinational troops use it daily to commute between the huge military base at the airport and the city center.
An overturned vehicle sits where a blast occurred on the airport road near Baghdad, Dec. 1, 2004.
A puppy follows a U.S. Army 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry, soldier on patrol in Mosul, Nov. 30, 2004.
An Iraqi woman reads election posters in the southern town of Basra, Nov. 30, 2004. Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi will travel to Jordan to meet with Iraqis outside the country as part of attempts to get as many Iraqis as possible to participate in upcoming elections.
An Iraqi woman walks past a U.S. Army patrol and a "house for sale" message in Mosul, Nov. 30, 2004.
Iraqi women line up to buy gasoline in Baghdad's predominantly Shiite Sadr City neighborhood, Nov. 29, 2004.
Iraqi National Guard members arrest gasoline black marketers in Baghdad, Nov. 29, 2004.
Iraqi women walk past a U.S. military Bradley armored vehicle on their way to buy gasoline in Baghdad's predominantly Shiite Sadr City neighborhood, Nov. 29, 2004.