US soldier dies in Iraq attack

US troops have been accused of being heavy-handed

An American paratrooper has died and another has been injured in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the US military says.

The incident occurred two days after gunmen shot and killed another US soldier in Iraq after reportedly approaching a checkpoint and asking for medical help.

US Central Command said that in the latest incident, troops from the 82nd Airborne Division were manning a weapons collection point in south-west Baghdad when a van with four passengers stopped in a nearby alley.

Two attackers then got out of the van and each fired a grenade at the soldiers, one of which hit a vehicle.

One of the soldiers later died from his injuries and the other was described as being in a stable condition.

Emerging pattern

Sunday's attack on US forces happened in the western town of al-Qaim, near the Syrian border.

US troops returned fire, killing one assailant, and they captured another. But at least one more assailant fled the scene.

The incidents appear to be an emerging pattern of local resistance in several parts of the country.

Some Iraqis say troops are being heavy-handed and they resent the American military presence.

The town of Falluja, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad, has seen repeated attacks on US forces since clashes with the local population in April in which the Americans killed at least 15 people and injured dozens of others.

More than 3,000 US troops and dozens of tanks have been sent into Falluja - a mainly Sunni Muslim town and a stronghold of former President Saddam Hussein's Baath Party.

Nearly 30 US troops have died in fighting or accidents since 1 May, when US President George W Bush declared the war in Iraq effectively over.

There were 85 attacks on US forces in May alone - almost triple the number of the previous month.