Bomb kills three US soldiers in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Aug 1 (Reuters) Three US soldiers were killed and six wounded yesterday when a roadside bomb detonated near their patrol in Baghdad, the US military said today.

The attack raised the death toll for US forces in Iraq to 77 for the month of July.

July was still the least deadly month since last November, a fact the military has welcomed as a sign that its new strategy of building up troops this year was having the desired effect.

The military said the bomb, in the eastern section of the capital, was an ''explosively formed penetrator,'' a particularly deadly type of armour-piercing device.

Washington and US commanders in Iraq have accused Iran of supplying militias in Iraq with such weapons. Iran denies the accusation.

Reuters AE GC1319