U.S. Marine shot to death, allegedly by Iraqi soldier

BAGHDAD, Iraq — An Iraqi soldier allegedly shot and killed a U.S. Marine at a base near the Syrian border, the U.S. said Friday. Another American Marine then wounded the Iraqi soldier.

In other incidents, three more U.S. troops were reported killed.

The shootings involving the Iraqi soldier occurred Thursday near Qaim, 200 miles west of Baghdad, the U.S. statement said.

The incident is under investigation, the statement said. No further details were released, and Pentagon officials said they had no information.

An earlier statement said the Iraqi was evacuated to a U.S. military base in Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad. The soldier's condition was unknown.

"Just as we as American military men and women trust one another with our lives, we also trust our Iraqi counterparts, and that trust has not wavered," the statement added. "We will not let this isolated incident deter us in our mission to train and mentor the Iraqi security forces as they progress toward independent operations to ensure the security of their nation."

The U.S. command also reported three other deaths among American troops.

One service member died Friday of wounds suffered while on patrol in western Baghdad, the U.S. military said. The statement said the victim's patrol had come under small-arms fire but provided no further details.

A soldier from the Army's 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team was killed Thursday when his combat patrol struck a roadside bomb near Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad.

A Marine was killed in "enemy action" in Anbar province west of Baghdad, also Thursday, a third statement said.

At least 2,349 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.