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"We saw a similar attack last year in the same place," Garver said.
SEARCH THROUGH PALM GROVES
Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops backed by helicopters and jets combed through lush palm groves, searched cars and went door-to-door looking for any signs of the missing soldiers.
Muayed al-Ameri, the mayor of the town of Mahmudiya, said U.S. and Iraqi soldiers killed three gunmen and wounded two others in the area on Sunday, but a U.S. military spokeswoman could not confirm if the clashes were related to the search.
The attack came as President George W. Bush deploys 30,000 more U.S. troops due in Iraq in June in what is seen as a final push to halt a slide into all-out civil war between majority Shi'ites and Sunni Arabs.
The crackdown is also aimed at securing areas outside Baghdad where U.S. commanders say militants are building car bombs and staging attacks on the capital.
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