Baghdad, June 05: One US soldier was killed and five wounded in an attack in the hotspot Iraqi town of Fallujah early today, US Central Command said, just a day after commanders announced the despatch of extra troops to the area. "An unknown assailant fired at them with a rocket propelled grenade," Centcom said.
"The injured were evacuated by a vehicle to a local military medical facility. "The soldiers are assigned to the Third Armoured Cavalry Regiment, 101st airborne division."

Coalition ground forces Commander Lieutenant General David McKiernan announced yesterday that he was deploying troop reinforcements to the Sunni Muslim tribal belt west of Baghdad to tackle the flurry of attacks which have targetted US troops in the area.

On May 27, two soldiers were killed and nine wounded in Fallujah, a deeply conservative town where tension has been on the boil since us troops shot dead at least 16 protesters in April.

In all, 25 US soldiers have died in fighting or accidents in Iraq since May 1, when US President George W Bush declared the war effectively over. Bureau Report