U.S. warns of heavier casualties in Iraq

By Aseel Kami and Dean Yates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday its military was expecting to suffer heavier casualties as it presses into "tougher neighbourhoods" in a bid to crush insurgency.

The White House warning came on a day when 25 people were killed near Ramadi in two suicide bombings police blamed on al Qaeda. They were the latest in a string of big car bombings across Iraq in recent weeks that have killed hundreds despite a U.S.-backed security crackdown in Baghdad and outlying areas.

"We are getting to the point now with the Baghdad security plan where there is going to be real engagement in tougher neighbourhoods and you're likely to see escalating levels of casualties," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.

"We've known that, been saying it all along. We're getting into some of the grittiest security operations," Snow said.

Eight U.S. soldiers were killed on Sunday in roadside bomb attacks and were among 12 whose deaths were announced, following an April in which more than 100 died. Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, more than 3,300 have been killed.

Monday's first bomb went off in a packed market at Albu-Thiyab, a town northeast of Ramadi, said Tareq al-Thiyabi, a police colonel in Anbar province. Ramadi is the local capital.

He said 13 people were killed at the market, including women and children. Nearly 20 people were wounded.

The second car bomb exploded soon after at a police checkpoint in a town called al-Jazeera, where 12 people including five policemen were killed, he added. More than 25 were wounded.