BAGHDAD (AP) - The suicide explosion that destroyed a vital bridge outside the Iraqi capital killed three American soldiers guarding the span over a main highway, the U.S. military said Monday, as bulldozers worked to clear the shattered concrete.

An Iraqi interpreter also was wounded in the attack Sunday on the overpass on the Iraqi capital's main north-south artery. As rescuers climbed over the debris, U.S. armored vehicles provided cover fire from their cannons after the bombing, which occurred in the area dubbed the "triangle of death" for its frequent Sunni insurgent attacks.

In Baghdad, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, whose forces control the area of the bombing, spoke at length about U.S. efforts to draw Sunnis into the security forces.