Roadside bomb kills 3 US soldiers in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Aug 7 (Reuters) Three US soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb hit their convoy south of Baghdad on Aug 4 the US military said today.

The deaths bring to 21 the number of US soldiers killed in the first six days of August. A total of 80 were killed in the entire month of July.

The US military said in a statement that the three soldiers were members of Task Force Marne, which has deployed south of Baghdad to block the flow of weapons, explosives and Shi'ite and Sunni Arab militants into the capital.

Earlier today, the military also reported the death of a soldier in Baghdad, who was killed yesterday when his vehicle was struck by an explosively formed penetrator, a powerful bomb that US officials say Iran is supplying to Shi'ite militias.

Four other soldiers were killed yesterday in Diyala province, where US troops have launched a summer campaign against militants using the area as a staging ground for car bomb attacks in Baghdad.

President George W. Bush has warned that August will be a bloody month for US forces in Iraq as al Qaeda tries to influence the intensifying debate in Washington over a timetable for a troop pullout.

At least 3,680 US soldiers have now been killed since the US-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein in 2003.

US commanders have warned of a rise in US casualties as troops push into dangerous areas previously off-limits to US forces. Bush has sent an extra 30,000 troops to Iraq to help stabilise the country.

Reuters PY GC1534