An American soldier was killed in broad daylight in Baghdad today bringing to 50 the number of troops killed in action since they were told major combat in Iraq was over on May 1.
Three others were wounded, one seriously.
Journalists saw one soldier slumped in the wreckageof a Humvee onto which an attacker had dropped a bomb or grenadefrom a highway bridge at a major intersection. Another was takenaway in a truck, covered in blood.
A US officer at the scene told Reuters two of his unit hadbeen badly hurt. One of those died.
Soldiers surrounded the scene after the attack, rifles atthe ready. One soldier was motionless in the back seat andanother lay in the road.
The US military said in a statement the blast was causedby a homemade device, while some witnesses earlier said it hadbeen a grenade.
"The car went to get some water. When it came back, somebodythrew a grenade at it," First Lieutenant Brian Ryan told Reutersat the scene of the attack.
"The grenade was thrown from the bridge," said Ali Haadi, alocal man who lives nearby.
"One 1st Armored Division soldier died and three others werewounded... when an unknown number of individuals dropped animprovised explosive device from an overpass onto their convoy,"US Central Command said in a statement.Two of the wounded had already returned to duty.
The incident highlighted the ease with which attackerstarget US troops. The weapon was dropped on a heavily armedgroup and the assailant quickly melted away in an area that wasnot densely populated.
The vehicle, with a smashed windshield, was left with twopunctured tyres over a pool of blood. Headlights from anothervehicle were still shining on the blood as nervous soldierspointed their rifles around the edges of the intersection.
One soldier stood on machinegun-mounted vehicle and peeredat a group of men through his binoculars. Iraqis came out oftheir homes after they heard a loud explosion and local policewith antiquated rifles slowly moved traffic along.
Since May 1, when President George W. Bush declared majorcombat operations ended, 50 US soldiers have been confirmedkilled in guerrilla attacks, along with more than 50 inaccidents.
In the past 10 days alone, 17 have died at the hands of alargely unseen enemy, making it the bloodiest period for USforces since Saddam Hussein was toppled in April.
US officers say the number of attacks has been fairlyconstant, averaging about a dozen a day. But the commander inIraq, Lieutenant-General Ricardo Sanchez, said they werebecoming more sophisticated and Iraq has become a "terroristmagnet".