US soldier killed in convoy attack

An American soldier was killed and four others were wounded in Iraq today when their convoy came under attack, the US military said.

Insurgents fired three rocket-propelled grenades at the support convoy on a main road near Baqouba, 40 miles north-east of Baghdad.

Capt Jay Miller said small arms fire also hit the group. One of the wounded soldiers would have to have a leg amputated, officials said.

The soldier’s death raises the number of American soldiers killed in Iraq to 282, of which 67 have died in combat since May 1 when President Bush declared an end to major combat.

Speaking yesterday, the commander of US forces in Iraq, Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez, said casualty figures since May 1 were “about what we would expect to get in this kind of conflict”.