The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Baghdad

The U.S. military says an American soldier has been killed and five others wounded by roadside bombs northeast of Baghdad.

A statement says the soldiers were struck Friday in three bombings on U.S patrols in the volatile Diyala province.

At least 4,102 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003. That's according to an Associated Press count.

The names of the soldiers have not been released pending notification of relatives.

Kabul report adds: A bomb killed four troops from the U.S.-led coalition in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, one of the deadliest attacks on foreign forces this year. The explosion seriously wounded two other troops as they were conducting operations in Kandahar province, a coalition statement said. It didn't release the nationalities of the victims or other details. Afghanistan is seeing a resurgence of violence, despite the presence of thousands of extra U.S. and NATO troops and fresh pledges of financial aid to the struggling government under President Hamid Karzai.

Last year, more than 8,000 people were killed in insurgency-related attacks - the most since the 2001 invasion - and violence has claimed more than 1,700 lives this year.

Saturday's bombing caps a particularly bloody week.

NATO and Afghan troops backed by warplanes on Wednesday attacked up to 400 Taliban militants who had seized Arghandab, a strategic valley dotted with orchards within striking distance of the main southern city of Kandahar. According to the Defense Ministry, 56 fighters and two Afghan soldiers died during the overnight operation, though the provincial governor put the militant toll at over 100.

The swift military success was tempered by concern at how easily militants had infiltrated a region dominated by one of the region's strongest tribes and forced NATO to mount a massive counter-operation.

It was also offset by a series of deadly attacks in the south and east which have taken this year's death toll for foreign troops to 105, according to an Associated Press tally.

Bomb, rocket and gun attacks had already killed four British soldiers, two American sailors, two U.S. Marines and one other member of the U.S.-led coalition this week.