ceaseless violence in Iraq

Shootings, bombings, kill 28 across Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Bombings and shootings across Iraq killed at least 28 people on Tuesday, including four students and a doctor. In Balad, the scene of sectarian fighting that has killed close to 100 people, U.S. troops aided Iraqi security forces struggling to contain the bloodshed.

October was shaping up as one of the country's deadlier months. According to an Associated Press count, 708 Iraqis have been reported killed in war-related violence this month, or just over 44 a day, compared to a daily average of more than 27 since the AP began tracking deaths in April 2005.

U.S. deaths were also running high. Seven American troops died in fighting over the weekend, raising the U.S. toll to 58 killed in the first two weeks of October, a pace that if continued would make the month the worst for coalition forces since January 2005.

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