BAGHDAD — Five American troops serving as advisers to Iraqi security police in eastern Baghdad were killed Monday when rockets slammed into the compound where they lived. The deaths were the largest single-day loss of life for American forces in two years.

The U.S. military announced the deaths in a brief statement, excluding details. Two Iraqi security officials later said the troops died when three rockets hit near the U.S. forces' living quarters at a joint U.S.-Iraqi base in the Baladiyat neighborhood where American troops were partnering with Ministry of Interior police. The Iraqi officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

American forces said the incident is under investigation. Names of the dead were withheld pending notification of family. The deaths raised to 4,459 the number of American service members who have died in Iraq, according to an Associated Press count.

With the 46,000 U.S. forces still in Iraq scheduled to depart by year's end, American troops and their bases in Baghdad and southern Iraq have increasingly come under attack and threats from Shiite Muslim militias, hoping to construct a narrative that they were responsible for driving out the Americans.

BEIRUT — Residents fled a northern region on today where authorities said weekend clashes between armed men and government troops killed 120 security forces, fearing retaliation from a regime known for ruthlessly crushing dissent.The government has vowed to respond “decisively” to the violence in Jisr al-Shughour, and a resident reached by The Associated Press today said people in the tense area had been fleeing for days.“People were struck by fear and panic after the government statements last night, it's clear they are preparing for a major massacre,” he said.Jisr al-Shughour has been the latest focus of Syria's military, whose nationwide crackdown on the revolt against President Bashar Assad has left more than 1,300 Syrians dead, activists say. The town was a stronghold of the country's banned Muslim Brotherhood in the 1980s. Human rights groups said at least 42 civilians have been killed there since Saturday.

TRIPOLI, Libya — Low-flying NATO military craft pounded Tripoli today, landing a series of 26 strikes that shook the Libyan capital in rare rare daytime raids designed to step up pressure on Moammar Gadhafi to leave power.The daylong raids shook the ground and sent thundering sound waves across the capital. Some of the strikes were believed to have targeted a military barracks near Gadhafi’s sprawling central Tripoli compound, said spokesman Moussa Ibrahim. Others hit the compound itself, Libyan television reported.A dark gray plume of smoke rose from the direction of the compound after one of the afternoon attacks. Ambulances, sirens blaring, could be heard in the distance.NATO officials have warned for days that they were increasing the scope and intensity of their two-month campaign to oust Gadhafi after more than 40 years in power.