Five US soldiers were killed and seven wounded in a coordinated attack in southern Baghdad involving a roadside bomb and rocket-propelled grenades, the US military announced yesterday.
The soldiers were on a combat patrol when a roadside bomb exploded near them on Thursday, the military said in a statement. Shortly after the blast, insurgents attacked with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, it said.
All seven wounded soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital, and one has since returned to duty, the military said. The victims' names were withheld pending family notification.
The deaths brought to 99 the number of US troops who have died in Iraq this month, according to an Associated Press count.
Last month, 126 US military personnel died, making last month the deadliest month for US forces in Iraq since November 2004, and the third-deadliest month since the war began. At least 104 US citizens died in Iraq in April.
The death toll for the past three months -- 329 -- made it the deadliest quarter for US troops in Iraq since the war began in March 2003.
At least 3,576 members of the US military have died since then, AP figures show. The number includes seven military civilians. At least 2,936 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
In other violence, Iraqi police said a suicide car bomb exploded at Iraqi army post north of Baghdad, destroying the building and igniting a fire. There was no immediate word on casualties.
The blast went off at a railway station in Mishada, a town 30km north of the capital, an officer said on condition of anonymity.
The Iraqi Army had recently taken over the station, in preparation for securing the area ahead of a Shiite Muslim march next week.
Also Friday, Iraqi police said a bomb exploded under an oil pipeline south of Baghdad, spilling crude oil and sparking a huge fire.
The explosives were planted under a stretch of pipeline in the Mowehlah area of Haswa, a town 50km south of Baghdad, a police officer said.
The blast ignited a huge fire around 5am, the officer said. By midday, firefighters were still struggling to extinguish the flames.
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