AFP - A US soldier was sentenced Thursday to seven months in prison for conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the deaths of four detainees in Iraq last year, an army spokeswoman said.

AP - Residents of this hurricane-wrecked island city launched an ill-advised attempt to return to their crippled hometown Wednesday, but instead fumed in hours of gridlocked traffic only to be turned away at the bridge.

AFP - The US military said Wednesday three US soldiers have been charged with premeditated murder committed in an unspecified incident in or near Baghdad in March or April 2007.

AP - Hurricane Ike's death toll in the U.S. climbed past 50 on Wednesday and appeared to level off in Texas, where search teams pulled out of Galveston having searched the entire island for survivors.

AFP - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday warned that the contentious security pact with the United States was facing "serious and dangerous obstacles."

AP - As of Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008, at least 524 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Tuesday at 10 a.m. EDT.

AFP - General David Petraeus, who rises on Tuesday from US military chief in Iraq to commander of all American forces in the Middle East, has emerged as Washington's most successful and trusted general since Vietnam.

AFP - The US Defense Department has notified Congress of plans to sell 1,000 bunker-buster bombs to Israel in a deal worth 77 million dollars.

Reuters - General Ray Odierno took command of U.S.-led forces in Iraq on Tuesday, faced with the challenge of ensuring security gains do not unravel at a time when American troop levels are being reduced.

Reuters - The top U.S. military officer, Adm. Mike Mullen, went to Pakistan on Tuesday for an unannounced visit amid stepped-up U.S. efforts to combat militants operating along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

AFP - US General Raymond Odierno took command of US-led forces in Iraq from David Petraeus on Tuesday, warning that security gains in the country were "fragile and reversible."

AFP - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Monday hailed the US leaders of the surge strategy on the eve of a military change of command in Iraq, but said the new commanders will face "a mission of transition" as American troop levels shrink.

AP - As of Monday, Sept. 15, 2008, at least 521 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Monday at 10 a.m. EDT.

AFP - US General Raymond Odierno will take charge of US-led forces in Iraq on Tuesday from David Petraeus, the commander credited with pulling the violence-wracked country back from all-out civil war.

Reuters - General Ray Odierno took command of U.S.-led forces in Iraq on Tuesday, faced with the challenge of ensuring security gains do not unravel at a time when American troop levels are being reduced.