Special report:Tension escalates in Iraq     

    BAGHDAD, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter were killed in insurgent attacks in eastern the capital, the U.S. military said on Monday.

    Three U.S. soldiers were killed and one wounded in a roadside bomb attack on Sunday when they were conducting a combat operation in eastern Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement.

    An Iraqi interpreter was also killed in the attack, the statement added.

    In a separate statement, the U.S. military reported the fourth U.S. death, who was killed on Saturday by small arms fire while his unit was conducting a combat patrol.

    The names of the soldiers are being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin, the statements added.

    More than 3,345 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion on Iraq broke out in March 2003, according to media count based on Pentagon figures.