Iraqi Insurgents Strike, U.S. Death Toll Rises

Thursday, violence returned to the southern city of Basra, where militants pummeled Britain's airport base with 20 rockets and British gunners answered with volleys of artillery. Civilians were killed and wounded in the crossfire. In Baghdad, a bomb that was rigged to a car blew apart at a bus stop, killing at least five people in a Shiite enclave that had not seen major violence in months. Although U.S. forces have expanded, the latest campaigns also have driven up the military's death toll after months of decline. At least 38 U.S. soldiers were killed in January, well above the 23 in December bu still sharply lower than a year ago.