U.S. soldier killed in Iraq

A U.S. soldier was killed in an attack on his patrol in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, the U.S. military said on Monday.

The incident took place on Sunday in the provincial capital city of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, a military statement said without giving further details.

An investigation into the incident has been launched, said the statement.

Diyala province, which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border east of the country, has long been a stronghold for al-Qaida militants and other insurgent groups since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 despite repeated U.S. and Iraqi military operations against them.

The latest death brings the number of U.S. soldiers who have been killed in Iraq to about 4,415, since the breakout of the U.S.- led war on Iraq in 2003, according to media account based on Pentagon figures.

Source: Xinhua