BAGHDAD, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. military said on Saturday that a U.S. soldier was killed and two others went missing on Friday when insurgents attacked them at a traffic checkpoint south of Baghdad.

    The attack occurred at 7:55 p.m. (1555 GMT) at a traffic checkpoint manned by U.S. soldiers near the town of Yousifiyah,about 20 km south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement.

    "After hearing small arms fire and explosions in the vicinity of the checkpoint, a quick reaction force responded to the scene,"the statement said.

    One U.S. soldier was killed and two others went missing, the statement said, adding that coalition forces were searching forthe missing soldiers in the area.

    The death toll of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq since the invasion in March 2003 hit 2,500, the U.S. Department of Defense said. Enditem