Three US soldiers killed in Iraq blast

Three US Army soldiers were killed and one was wounded by a roadside bomb in northern Iraq, the military said Thursday.

Three US Army soldiers were killed and one was wounded by a roadside bomb in northern Iraq, the military said Thursday. The blast hit the Task Force Liberty 42nd Infantry Division combat patrol at about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday near Balad, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad, the military said. The wounded soldier was transported to a Coalition Forces medical facility for treatment. The attack raised to at least 1,986 the number of members of the US military who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. That total includes one 42nd Infantry Division soldier who was killed and four who were wounded when their 42nd Infantry Division vehicle was burned by a roadside bomb that exploded about 6 p.m. Wednesday near Tikrit, 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad, the military said. The names of the soldiers were being withheld pending notification of their relatives.