One US soldier killed, 10 wounded in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Oct 2 (Reuters) One US soldier was killed and 10 were wounded in combat operations in central Baghdad on Sunday, the U.S.

military said today. The military gave no details about the incident or why such a large number of soldiers had been wounded. It said two Iraqi soldiers and an interpreter were also hurt.

The death raised to 66 the number of American soldiers killed in Iraq in September, according to icasualties.org, a Web site that tracks US military deaths in Iraq.

That makes September the least deadly month for US troops in Iraq since August last year, when 65 soldiers were killed.

US commanders have attributed the drop in troop deaths to a rise in force levels this year and a series of large-scale offensives against Sunni Islamist al Qaeda and other militant groups.

On Monday, Iraqi government data showed civilian deaths from violence across Iraq had fallen 50 per cent in September from August.

Reuters SZ DB1157