Roadside bomb kills US soldier in Iraq

A roadside bomb exploded near a US army patrol in northern Iraq today, killing one soldier and wounding another, the US military said.

The early morning attack occurred north of Tal Afar, a city about 93 miles east of the Syrian border, the military said in a statement.

Clashes between insurgents and US and Iraqi forces are common in the region.

The name of the soldier killed in the US Army’s 1st Corps Support Command was being withheld until next of kin were notified.

As of yesterday, at least 1,563 members of the US military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

At least 1,189 died as a result of hostile action, according to the US Defence Department.

The figures include four military civilians.