U.S. death toll in Iraq approaches 4,000

BAGHDAD -- A roadside bomb killed three American soldiers north of Baghdad on Saturday, pushing the U.S. death toll in the five-year conflict to nearly 4,000.

Two Iraqi civilians also died in the roadside bombing, which occurred as the Americans were patrolling an area northwest of the capital, the U.S. military said in a statement.

The latest deaths brought to 3,996 the number of U.S. service members and Pentagon civilians who have died since the war began in 2003, according to an Associated Press count.