Sunni militants threaten to kill 100 Shiite hostages Iraqi security forces surround town as GI, 16 others slain elsewhere

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi security forces surrounded a central Iraqivillage today after Sunni militants took as many as 100 ShiiteMuslims hostage and threatened to kill the captives if other Shiitesdid not leave town.

The explosive sectarian standoff played out as 17 people --including an American soldier -- were killed in insurgent attackselsewhere in Iraq.

Late Saturday, insurgents fired mortar rounds at a U.S. Marinebase near Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, the military said, addingthat there were no American casualties. Residents said dozens ofarmed fighters moved through the city after dark. They reported loudexplosions when the militants tried to force their way …