5 US soldiers killed in suicide attack

? A suicide bomber detonated himself Monday among a group of American soldiers as they mingled with shoppers in an upscale neighborhood of central Baghdad, killing five U.S. soldiers and injuring three in the worst attack against U.S. forces in the capital in nearly nine months.

An Iraqi interpreter and five civilians were wounded in the midafternoon bombing on a crowded street in the wealthy Mansour neighborhood, an area that has sprung back to life in recent months as a result of the military’s surge strategy.

The attack was the latest in a series of high profile suicide vest bombings to strike the Iraqi capital, pointing to a resurgent al-Qaida in Iraq effort to destabilize Baghdad, U.S. military officials say. But it was the first time in recent memory that the tactic has been used against U.S. forces in Baghdad.

“This is not a typical attack,” said Maj. Mark Cheadle, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad. “It’s not the normal means used against us. Usually they attack defenseless civilians.”