An American soldier was killed and five others were wounded, and two Iraqi civilians died, when a US army foot patrol was ambushed just outside Fallujah in Iraq today.
The patrol, from the 82nd Airborne Division, was first hit by an exploding homemade bomb and then by small-arms fire. Paratroopers then raided a nearby mosque detaining three Iraqis.
The bodies of two civilians were taken to Fallujah General Hospital, where doctors said one was a Syrian truckdriver who was hauling cement from Lebanon to Baghdad when he was caught in the attack.
The attack was staged about 20 yards from the main bridge leading into Fallujah from Baghdad, when about 30 soldiers on foot, accompanied by five Humvees, were on patrol along the highway.
The area is known as "Sunni triangle" and is home to ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's tribal network, where most of the daily attacks on US forces occur.
Today's attack brings the number of US soldiers killed since US President George W Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1st.
AP