2 Americans, 5 Iraqis Killed In Fresh Attacks

"We had one soldier killed in Baghdad by an improvised explosive device (IED) and one wounded this morning at 10:10 (0710 GMT)," she was quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) as saying.

"I assume it was an American but we still need to confirm this," the spokeswoman said.

The U.S. occupation forces announced earlier in the day that one American soldier was killed and another wounded, also in an IED attack, in the northern Iraqi town of Tikrit Monday.

The soldier’s death raised to 140 the number of U.S. troops who have died in Iraq since May 1, when Washington declared major combat was over, according to an AFP count based on the latest information provided by the Pentagon.

Three mortars hit Baghdad, one landing at a U.S. army facility. There were no casualties reported, the U.S. military said.

In the northern oil province of Kirkuk a bomb exploded close to a police station, a mortar shell exploded in a schoolyard and a truck carrying concrete security blocks for the U.S. occupation forces was set ablaze, police said.

The U.S. occupation forces blame the growing attacks on its forces on the remnants of the former regime.

But observers said that anti-American sentiments rising among ordinary Iraqis who are jeered by the continued occupation and lack of security or basic services, should be taken into consideration.