Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq     

    BAGHDAD, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Up to nine American soldiers were killed and three others wounded by insurgents' attacks in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Sunday.

    Three soldiers and two marines were killed on Friday while conducting combat operations in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a military said in a statement.

    Three more soldiers were killed and another was wounded on Saturday when a roadside bomb struck their patrol southeast of Baghdad, another statement said.

    A ninth soldier was killed and two others were wounded when their patrol was hit by a roadside bomb south of the capital on Saturday, a statement said.

    About 3,345 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.