Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. marine was killed and two others were injured when their unit came under small-arms fire from an "enemy force" in Iraq's western province of An bar, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.

    The attack occurred on Sunday while the soldiers' unit was conducting clearing operations in a village in northern the province, the military said in a statement.

    The name of the deceased soldier is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, it added.

    The area, where the incident took place, has been relatively calm for more than a year and a half after Sunni tribes and anti-U.S. insurgent groups turned to cooperate with the U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces against al-Qaida in Iraq network.

    About 4,140 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.