A US tank commander was shot and killed and two other invasion soldiers were wounded during a drive through the centre of Baghdad where they encountered intense Iraqi fire, a senior officer said. "We had one KIA (killed in action)," Colonel David Perkins, commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, told AFP. Asked how he was killed, Perkins said the commander had sustained a "head wound".

The second soldier had suffered chest wounds while the third had been shot in the shoulder, Perkins added.
Three US invasion soldiers were killed in a vehicle accident at Baghdad's main airport.

Colonel Will Grimsley, commander of the First Brigade of the US Army's 3rd infantry Division, said the three were killed late Friday in "an armored vehicle incident" but gave no details.

Earlier, A US AH-1W "Super Cobra" attack helicopter crashed in central Iraq killing two pilots, the US Central Command announced.

"Preliminary indications are that the crash was not a result of hostile fire," a statement said, adding: "The cause of the crash is under investigation."

Names of all the US troops were being withheld pending next-of-kin notification.

PHOTO CAPTION

A US Marine Super Cobra helicopter in battle in Iraq (AFP/File)