US soldier, five others killed near Baquba

Aug 16, 2010, 17:49 GMT

   Baghdad - A United States soldier was killed when a patrol came under attack in the Iraqi governorate of Diyala, the US military in Iraq said Monday.

   Separately, a car bomb explosion east of Baquba, the capital of Diyala, killed four Iranian travelers and an Iraqi policeman. At least nine others were wounded in the attack.

   Baquba, a central city not far from the Iranian border, lies some 70 kilometres north of Baghdad.

   The incident which killed the US soldiers is currently under investigation and took place late on Sunday. The name of the soldier was being withheld by US authorities until relatives were notified.

   In Mosul, some 400 kilometres north of Baghdad, gunmen killed a policeman, the Aswat al-Iraq news agency reported.

   Explosions in Fallujah and Baghdad in the morning hours injured several security officials and civilians.

   The US military remains on track for ending major combat operations in Iraq by the end of this month and reducing its presence there to about 50,000 soldiers, the White House has confirmed. All US forces are scheduled to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.