A body of 12 clerics declared Iran's disputed presidential vote valid and free of major fraud, paving the way for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be sworn in next month despite claims of vote manipulation that sparked weeks of massive protest.

The Guardian Council, an electoral authority the opposition accuses of favoring Ahmadinejad, said Monday it had found only "slight irregularities" after randomly selecting and recounting 10 percent of nearly 40 million ballots.

BAGHDAD — Four U.S. soldiers were killed in combat shortly before the American military completed a withdrawal from Iraq's cities, and the prime minister assured Iraqis that government forces taking control of urban areas today were more than capable of protecting the country.In the attack Monday against U.S. forces, the military said the four soldiers who were killed served with the Multi-National Division-Baghdad but did not provide further details pending notification of their families.

SAN'A, Yemen — A passenger jet from Yemen with 153 people on board crashed in the Indian Ocean early today as it tried to land during heavy wind on the island nation of Comoros, and search teams rescued a child from the sea, officials said.There were 142 passengers and a crew of 11 Yemenis on board when the Airbus A310, which had set off from the Yemeni capital of San'a, went down shortly before landing, Yemeni civil aviation deputy chief Mohammed Abdul Qader said.