Bombings kill US soldiers in Iraq

Five US troops have died in three separate bomb attacks in Iraq, US military officials say.

One soldier died in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad on Tuesday, and four Marines died on Monday in two attacks near Ramadi, west of the capital.

The deaths were announced hours after the US confirmed the death of three military and one diplomatic security agents near Mosul on Monday.

More than 1,900 US servicemen have died since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Tuesday's attack happened about 75 miles (120km) north of Baghdad, the US military said, killing a US military policeman.

Regular attacks

The attacks in Ramadi were the latest in a string of strikes against US troops in the western town.

Ramadi, with a population of about 400,000, has long been a focal point for Sunni Muslim insurgents.

US troops and Iraqi military and police forces have regularly come under attack in and around the city.

The attacks near Mosul on Monday came as Arabic media reports said the US consul in Mosul had been holding talks with residents of nearby Talafar.

The city has recently been the target of a big American and Iraqi military operation.