BAGHDAD, Sept. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- A US soldier was killed Tuesday inan attack by militia men in the radical Shiite Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, the US military said.

    The US soldier was killed in an ambush during the overnight clashes, a US military spokesman said.

    According to the spokesman, sporadic clashes took place overnight between US forces and Shiite fighters loyal to the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the battles still flared on Tuesday morning.

    The soldier's death brought the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq to over 990 since the US-led invasion in March 2003. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Health Ministry released contradicting reports about the casualties of Iraqis during the clashes in the past 24 hours.

    One report said around 40 people were killed in the fighting and another said 15 Iraqis were killed in clashes on Tuesday in Sadr City. Enditem