Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Six American soldiers were killed and 11 others wounded in Iraq on Monday, bringing the death toll of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq to about 3,400 since the U.S.-led invasion broke out in 2003, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

    Two soldiers were killed and four others wounded when insurgents attacked their dismounted patrol with small arms fire southeast of Baghdad, a military statement said.

    A U.S. airman was killed and three others were wounded in a roadside bomb attack at about 3:55 p.m. (1155 GMT) on Monday in southern Baghdad, another statement said.

    In Iraq's western Anbar province, a marine was killed during combat operations, the military said.

    Meanwhile, a fifth soldier was killed and four others were injured when a roadside bomb struck their patrol while conducting combat operation in northern part of the Iraqi capital, it said.

    The sixth soldier died due to non-combat related causes, another statement said without revealing where and how the soldier died.

    The latest deaths bring the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq to some 3,400 since the invasion in 2003, according to media count based on Pentagon figures.

    In addition, thousands of U.S. troops continue a massive search operation in Baghdad's southern insurgent strongholds looking for three more soldiers who were kidnapped near the town of Mahmoudiyah on Saturday.

    However, al-Qaida organization in Iraq, which claimed responsibility for the soldiers' kidnapping, warned Monday that the U.S. troops should halt its expanding search for the missing soldiers if they want their safety.

    "Your soldiers are in our hands. If you want their safety, do not search for them," the organization said in a statement posted on the Internet.