US soldier killed in Iraq

US forces in Iraq come under attack periodically

A US soldier has been killed and four others wounded in an attack in Iraq.

The attack - near Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit - involved a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire, the US military said.

The injured soldiers were evacuated by helicopter and ambulance to military medical facilities in the area, the statement said.

Earlier this week, another US soldier was killed in a similar attack in the central town of Falluja, also a former stronghold of the deposed Iraqi leader.

Attacks against US forces in the country are increasing, with 85 reported in May alone.

US commanders have blamed the recent spate of guerrilla-type attacks on remnants of the former Iraqi regime, but say the resistance is not co-ordinated.

The BBC's Roger Hardy says Sunni Muslim towns - such as Tikrit - north and west of Baghdad are especially dangerous for US troops.

This area, he says, prospered under Saddam Hussein's rule, and resentment of the American presence has been particularly strong there.