Roadside bomb kills US soldier in Iraq

BAGHDAD - A US soldier was killed and another wounded when a roadside bomb exploded early Tuesday north of the Iraqi capital, the US military said.
The bomb "detonated next to their combat patrol about 30 kilometres south of Tikrit", some 180 kilometres (110 miles) from Baghdad, its said in a statement. The wounded soldier returned to duty after treatment.
US forces have seen 25 killed over the past 11 days -- including nine during the week-long Operation Matador in western Iraq that ended last Saturday.
US marines mounted the massive military operation near the Syrian border to deprive insurgents of "safe havens" and disrupt supplies of weapons and volunteers from across the border.
The total number of US service personnel who have died in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion now stands at 1,616, according to an AFP tally based on Pentagon figures.

05/17/2005 10:23 GMT