Gov. Tim Pawlenty Visits Minn. Soldiers in Iraq

MINNEAPOLIS - Gov. Tim Pawlenty delivered his condolences to a Minnesota National Guard unit that lost three members in an attack in Iraq last week.

Pawlenty spoke to reporters in a conference call from Kuwait on Sunday after making his fourth unannounced trip to Iraq.

The governor says the loss and pain that the families of the three slain soldiers are feeling is "unimaginable," but he wanted to share the state's gratitude for the soldiers' "incredible courage."

All three were assigned to the Stillwater-based 34th Military Police Company, part of the 34th "Red Bull" Infantry Division.

More than 1,000 Red Bulls are overseeing coalition efforts in half of Iraq's 18 provinces. Despite the three deaths, Pawlenty says violence in Iraq has decreased since his last visits in 2006 and '07.