A US soldier was shot dead in small arms fire in the Iraqi town of Iskandariyah, the US military said on Friday.

The soldier, assigned to the 155th Brigade Combat Team, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was gunned down on Wednesday during combat operations near the town, 50 km south of Baghdad, the military said in a statement.

The name of the killed soldier was being withheld pending notification of next of kin, it said.

About 1,880 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the US- led invasion in March 2003.

Source: Xinhua