US soldier killed in Iraq
81st to die since May
A US soldier was killed in Iraq yesterday, the 81st to die in action since the start of May, as American forces backed by helicopters fought guerillas for hours in a restive area west of Baghdad.
In the capital, officials said the trial of accused oil smugglers from a Panamanian-flagged tanker with a Ukrainian crew was intended to send a clear message to traffickers draining Iraq of precious fuel.
US-led authorities said Iraq's current oil exports were around 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from production of nearly two million bpd - well below peak exports of 2.8 million bpd before the war in March that toppled Saddam Hussein.
But the country's oil export potential is being closely watched on global markets, with oil cartel OPEC saying it was cutting production to accommodate a slow but steady rise in Iraq's exports and in the meantime pushing up oil prices.
Washington sees oil as a crucial source of funds for reconstruction in Iraq.
The latest American death came in a bomb explosion as a US military convoy travelled along a road near Habbaniya, about 70 kms from Baghdad, a US military spokesman said. Another soldier was wounded.
Soldiers carried a wounded woman in civilian clothes from a grassy area near a dirt road to their sand coloured Humvee before taking her for treatment. Local people said at least five Iraqis had been wounded.