Five US soldiers killed by bomb in Iraq Thu Sep 29

[DJ RBG]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Five U.S. soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb blew up next to their vehicle as they were involved in combat operations west of Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

The soldiers, assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, were killed near Ramadi, about 110 km (65 miles) west of Baghdad, on Thursday, a statement from the military said. Ramadi has been a focus of insurgent activity over the past two years.

No further details about the incident were released.

More than 1,900 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq since the start of the war. By far the biggest killer of U.S. forces has been roadside bombs -- explosives planted next to the road and detonated as U.S. vehicles are passing.

In recent months, U.S. commanders believe insurgents have developed more powerful "shaped" charges packed into roadside bombs that are capable of piercing military armor, greatly increasing the likelihood of death in an attack.

The area around Ramadi, and north of there in the Euphrates river valley, has been a focal point of the insurgent, with almost daily attacks on U.S. forces.

U.S. commanders believe Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, the group that has carried out many of the deadliest attacks in the country, is hiding out in the area.

Successive U.S. operations in the region have failed to catch him, although this week one of his top deputies was killed by U.S. and Iraqi troops in Bahgdad, the military said.