A vehicle driven by a suicide bomber blew up outside a US army base in the town of Ramadi today, killing one soldier and injuring 14 others, the US military said.
The bomb was concealed in a truck that was delivering furniture to the base. Three Iraqis in the vehicle died in the explosion, a military spokeswoman said.
Three wounded soldiers were evacuated to a combat hospital and the other 11 were treated and returned to duty, the spokeswoman said.
The bomb detonated just outside the gate of the Army's "Champion Base" in Ramadi, 60 miles west of Baghdad. The base is the headquarters of the 82nd Airborne Division.
The region around Ramadi and the nearby city of Fallujah is one of the most dangerous for coalition troops in Iraq. US military convoys have been regularly targeted by roadside bombs and small-arms fire, and a number of soldiers have been killed.
On Tuesday, two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the gates of two US military bases north of Baghdad, wounding dozens of American soldiers but failing to inflict casualties on the scale of recent attacks in Iraq.
Most of the soldiers were slightly hurt by debris and flying glass, indicating that massive defences, including sand barriers, high cement walls and numerous roadblocks leading to the entrances of bases, have paid off for American troops in Iraq.
AP