Three soldiers dead in suicide attack

Three coalition troops were killed in Iraq when a car blew up at a checkpoint in what appeared to be a suicide bombing, US officials said.

The incident happened about 11 miles south-west of Haditha Dam when a civilian vehicle approached an Allied checkpoint.

"A pregnant female stepped out of the vehicle and began screaming in fear," US Central Command said in a statement.

"At this point the civilian vehicle exploded, killing three coalition force members who were approaching the vehicle and wounding two others."

It said the woman and the driver were also killed. The dam is north-west of Baghdad, about 80 miles from the Iraq-Syria border.

Central Command spokesman Jim Wilkinson said the incident showed the Iraqi regime was using desperate measures to try to stay in power.

He said: "The more desperate the regime gets, the more desperate their tactics become."

An Iraqi soldier posing as a taxi driver has already staged a suicide attack that killed four US soldiers at an army checkpoint.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein rewarded the man, honouring him with a posthumous promotion, two new medals and a huge financial windfall for his family.

Allied troops have been on heightened alert since last Saturday's bombing, and have fired on civilian vehicles that have approached checkpoints.

Most watched News videos