Roadside bomb blasts in Iraq: U.S. soldier killed, 3 Iraqi troops

A U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded by a roadside bomb blast south of Baghdad, the military announced Thursday, while three Iraqi police died in a similar attack. The U.S. soldiers belonged to Multi-National DivisionBaghdad and were targeted Wednesday, the military said in a statement.

The name of the soldier who was killed is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification. At least 2,237 U.S. military personnel have died since the Iraq war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

North of Baghdad, three Iraqi soldiers were killed and four wounded by another roadside bomb on Wednesday afternoon, police Lt. Amir al-Ahbabi said.

The attack happened in the Ishaki area on the Baghdad-Mosul highway, about 90 kilometers (about 55 miles) north of the Iraqi capital. Roadside bombs rank among the weapons most frequently used by insurgents targeting coalition and allied Iraqi security forces, reports the AP. I.L.