US soldier killed in Iraq blast, death toll tops 1,500

BAGHDAD - A US soldier was killed and another wounded in a Baghdad bomb blast Wednesday, the US army said, raising the number of American military deaths in Iraq to more than 1,500.
"A Task Force Baghdad Soldier died March 9 when his patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device around 3:30 pm (1230 GMT)," the military said in a statement.
The death raised to 1,501 the number of soldiers killed in Iraq since the US invasion two years ago, according to the latest tally from the Pentagon.

03/09/2005 14:46 GMT