Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- An American soldier was killed by small arms fire in the Salahudin province north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Saturday.

    The attack occurred on Thursday during U.S. troops' operations in the province, the military said in a statement.

    Earlier, the military said that another soldier was killed and four others were wounded in the day when an armored piercing roadside bomb, or EFP, struck their unit in southern Baghdad.

    EFP, first developed during World War II, is a special type of shaped charge designed to penetrate armor effectively.

    The names of deceased soldiers are being withheld pending notification of relatives, the statements said.

    The latest death brings the number of U.S. soldiers who have been killed in Iraq to more than 3,835 since the outbreak of the Iraq war in 2003, according to media count based on Pentagon figures.