Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. military said on Tuesday that four U.S. soldiers were killed and two more wounded in insurgent attacks in Iraq on Monday.

    A marine was killed while conducting combat operations in the volatile Anbar province in western Iraq, the U.S. military said in a statement.

    A second soldier was killed while conducting combat operations in the western province, said another statement.

    A third one was killed when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle during a military operation in the Fuhaylat area to the west of Baghdad, a statement said.

    The fourth soldier died hours after he sustained wounds along with two more soldiers when a suicide truck bomb detonated near his location close to a police station in Kirkuk, a statement said.

    Two Iraqi policemen and 10 civilians were also killed, along with 17 policemen and more than 180 civilians injured when the suicide bomber blew up an explosive-laden truck into a police station in the Rahimawa district in the city, local police chief said.

    More than 3,255 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, according to media count based on Pentagon figures.