One United States soldier was killed and a second wounded on Wednesday when their four-vehicle convoy hit a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) north of the capital Baghdad, a US military spokesperson said.
”One Fourth Infantry Division soldier was killed and one wounded when their vehicle struck an IED at approximately 7am (3am GMT) this morning,” division spokesperson Major Josslyn Aberle said.
The two casualties were evacuated from the scene by military helicopter, she said.
”One soldier died of wounds at the hospital, while the other soldier is in stable condition,” she added.
A second coalition official, Australian Lieutenant Peter Reker, said the blast occurred at 6.20am (2.20am GMT) in the town of Dawar, 25km south of Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit and about 150km north of Baghdad.
At least 59 American soldiers have now been killed in guerrilla-style attacks since the White House declared major combat operations in Iraq over on May 1. Another 62 have died in non-combat incidents.
IEDs, which include simple jerry-rigged hand grenades and sophisticated remote-detonated explosives, have proven to be weapons of choice in the low-intensity insurgency against the US-led occupation of Iraq.
On Tuesday a US soldier was killed and two more wounded outside the flashpoint town of Ramadi, 110km west of the Iraqi capital, when their convoy came across a chain of IEDs. — Sapa-AFP