BAGHDAD, Dec. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- A US soldier was killed in action ina drive-by shooting in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Monday, a senior US spokesman said.

    "There was a drive-by shooting by four Iraqis, who shot and killed him," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt told reporters.

    The incident took place around midday near a gas station in the city, 400 km north of Baghdad, said the general. The gunmen fired from a vehicle which had stopped some 40 meters away.

    The soldier belonging to the 101st Airborne Division later died of the wounds he sustained in the attack.

    The death brought to 192 the number of US soldiers killed by hostile fire since US President George W. Bush declared the major combat over on May 1.

    It was the latest of a series of lethal attacks that occurred inMosul, once a calm and secure place after the US occupation. Enditem