Iraq

Roadside bomb kills two U.S. soldiers near Tikrit

A roadside bomb killed two American soldiers and wounded three others in Saddam Hussein’s hometown Saturday, and U.S. forces responded by making several arrests and dispatching troops into the streets.

The slain soldiers were the first casualties suffered by the 1st Infantry Division’s 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, which took over control of the restive Sunni Triangle town of Tikrit on Saturday.

In Baghdad, a bomb planted in a shop killed Haidar al-Qazwini, brother-in-law of a Shiite member of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, an aide to al-Jaafari said.

Iraqi police Capt. Abbas Nima said an unidentified man entered the shop and left a bag containing explosives, which later detonated.

Also Saturday, the White House said it sent a senior official to Baghdad to help form an interim government — action that is needed before sovereignty can be transferred to the Iraqi people by June 30.

Haiti

U.S. Marines kill two men; Aristide headed to Caribbean

Relatives wailed in grief over two people shot by American troops as anger grew over the U.S.-led peacekeeping operation, with some Haitians on Saturday demanding the United States return ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Aristide, in exile in the Central African Republic since Feb. 29, was to fly to Jamaica on Monday to be reunited with his daughters, who stayed in New York during the upheaval. He has claimed he was forced out by the U.S. government.

A delegation of American and Jamaican officials — including Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. — left Miami Saturday night in a chartered jet to bring Aristide to Jamaica.

The flight was expected to land in the Central African Republic this afternoon. Aristide was scheduled to arrive in Jamaica on Monday morning.

Meanwhile, U.S. Marines said the two men killed late Friday during a patrol were gunmen who had previously fired on the Marines, although their weapons were never recovered. Witnesses said the dead were bystanders.

California

Former priest gets 8 years for molesting teen brothers

A former Roman Catholic priest has been sentenced to eight years in prison for molesting two teenage brothers more than a decade ago.

Carlos Rene Rodriguez, 48, could have received more than 10 years Friday, but prosecutors recommended a lesser penalty because his guilty plea last month spared his victims from having to testify.

Rodriguez “betrayed God and his role to society,” Ventura County prosecutor Anthony Wold said. “There are no words to describe him.”

Rodriguez stared toward the floor, crying occasionally as his attorney shielded him from the audience.

Most of the incidents occurred at the boys’ home between 1988 and 1993, authorities said. The victims had been 13 and 14.

Rodriguez was relieved of his clerical duties in 1993.

At sentencing, Rodriguez also was ordered to undergo an HIV test and give the results to the victims, and register for life as a sex offender.