ROME, June 5 (Xinhua) -- An attack on an Italian military convoy killed one soldier and wounded four others in Iraq on Monday, the defense ministry confirmed.

    A roadside bomb hit the Italian vehicle, which was escorting a British convoy on its way to Tallil, some 100 km north of Nassiriyah in the south of the country, a defense ministry spokesman said.

    One of the soldiers died shortly after the explosion, he said.

    Prime Minister Romani Prodi expressed his "sorrow for this new grief to befall the Italian people," describing it as "very heavy news."

    Italian troops have been under frequent attacks recently. On April 27, an explosion occurred near the headquarters of Italian troops in Nassiriyah, killing three soldiers aboard a military vehicle.

    In the past three years, 34 Italian soldiers have been killed in Iraq.

    Several leaders of the center-left coalition government Monday night called for an immediate withdrawal of the troops from Iraq.

    The Prodi government, which won the general elections in April,has announced plans to reduce the number of Italian soldiers deployed in Iraq from 2,700 to 1,600 during this month and to withdraw the remainder by the end of the year.

    The military contingent will be replaced by a civil group stillto be defined.

    The Italian troops were sent to Iraq in 2003 under former PrimeMinister Silvio Berlusconi, who was a strong ally of U.S. President George W. Bush. Italian public opinion has been against the Iraqi war.

    Prodi has said that the withdrawal will be worked out after consultations with allies and with the Iraqi government. Enditem