BAGHDAD, March 9 (Xinhuanet) -- An American soldier was killed Tuesday near Baquba, 50 km north of Baghdad, after a roadside bomb went off near his convoy, the US military said.

    The soldiers was killed at about 9:20 a.m (0620 GMT) when the Humvee he was riding in was hit by the bomb, said Maj. Debra Stewart, adding that a second soldier was wounded in the blast and airlifted to a hospital in Baghdad.

    Baquba is located on the eastern edge of the so-called Sunni triangle where insurgency operations against the US-led coalition forces are prevailing.

    The latest death brings to 265 the number of US soldiers killed in action since US President George W. Bush declared official hostilities over on May 1 last year. Enditem