Bombing Kills 10 Near Shiite Shrine

"We will continue to make it clear to both Syria and Iran . . . that meddling in the internal affairs of Iraq is not in their interests," Bush said at the White House, where he was meeting with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy. He said the United States expected nations adjoining Iraq to work "to stop the flow of people and money that aim to help these terrorists."

U.S. military intelligence officials have concluded in recent weeks that former Hussein loyalists have found sanctuary in Syria and are channeling money and other support to the Iraqi insurgency. Both the interim Iraqi president, Ghazi Yawar, and Jordan's King Abdullah have warned recently that Iran is trying to influence the elections to create an Islamic government that would shift the geopolitical balance between Shiite and Sunni Muslims in the Middle East.

At a Pentagon briefing, a senior U.S. military official offered additional details. "It is clear to us that there is still a significant amount of activity going on in Syria as far as financial support and the movement of foreign fighters into and out of Iraq," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, deputy chief of the Central Command, the U.S. military headquarters for operations in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East. But he added, "We don't think that's sanctioned by the highest levels of government."

Smith also disclosed that the level of U.S. troops in Iraq had reached about 148,000, as the U.S. military presence is boosted to prepare for next month's elections.

Meanwhile, a senior Iraqi official said the first judicial proceedings against senior Hussein officials would summon Sultan Hashem Ahmed, a former defense minister and general accused of carrying out a brutal campaign against the Kurdish population in the late 1980s.

Ahmed, who surrendered to U.S. forces in September 2003, commanded the Iraqi army in the northern city of Kirkuk in 1988, when Hussein's forces systematically rounded up and killed thousands of Kurds, often by employing chemical weapons.

Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, who is Kurdish, said Ahmed was expected to provide evidence against Ali Hassan Majeed, the documented planner of the anti-Kurdish campaign who became known as "Chemical Ali."

"The judges say [Ahmed] has things to say relevant to the investigation of Ali Hassan Majeed and possibly Taha Ramadan," Salih said. Ramadan was Hussein's last vice president.

Iraqi officials emphasized that the legal proceedings would not be trials but rather investigative hearings that under Iraqi law approximate the function of a grand jury. The defendants, accompanied by counsel, will face questioning from an investigating judge who will decide whether to proceed to trial.

Salih said that except for televised images of the defendants' arrival in court, the hearings would be closed to the public. But he said international monitors would be invited to attend. Several prominent human rights groups have criticized Iraq for prosecuting Hussein and his deputies in potential "show trials" rather than surrendering jurisdiction to a tribunal convened by the United Nations or another international body.

One Marine was reported killed on Tuesday in Anbar province, which includes Fallujah, where insurgents have continued to attack U.S. forces since an offensive last month. A soldier died of a gunshot wound during a convoy mission south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement that made no mention of enemy contact.

On Wednesday, three Polish soldiers were killed and four injured when a helicopter crashed near Karbala. The Polish military blamed a "technical failure," the Associated Press reported. The deaths brought to 16 the number of Polish fatalities in Iraq.

Vick reported from Baghdad. Staff writer Thomas E. Ricks in Washington contributed to this report.