US should brace for more casualties in Iraq

WASHINGTON, May 7 (Reuters) After another bloody weekend for US troops in Iraq, the White House said today Americans should brace for more US casualties in the push for greater security in Baghdad.

Eight US soldiers were killed yesterday in roadside bomb attacks and were among 12 whose deaths were announced, following an April in which more than 100 died.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said the deaths were attributable to efforts to bring security to Baghdad as part of a 3-month-old troop buildup.

''We are getting to the point now with the Baghdad security plan where there is going to be real engagement in tougher neighborhoods and you're likely to see escalating levels of casualties,'' Snow said.

''We've known that, been saying it all along. We're getting into some of the grittiest security operations,'' Snow said.

More than 3,300 Americans have died in the 4-year-old Iraq war.

The Bush White House and the Democrats in charge of the US Congress are currently deadlocked on providing a fresh infusion of cash to fund the war.

Bush last week vetoed a Democratic bill that would have forced him to start withdrawing US troops from Iraq this year, legislation that al Qaeda's No 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, said in a Web video on Saturday was proof of Washington's defeat.

Bush has vowed never to accept a withdrawal deadline and his aides are engaged in negotiations with key legislators on Capitol Hill trying to find an agreement that would provide 100 billion dollars for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

REUTERS RS RAI2146