Insurgent snipers gunned down a U.S. soldier in Dhuluiyah town of northern Iraq on Sunday, witnesses said.

"A sniper shot dead a U.S. soldier in the Sorah intersection in central Dhuluiyah town while the U.S. troops were near an Iraqi army checkpoint at the site," a witness told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The attack prompted U.S. troops to open fire randomly, wounding three civilians and damaging four cars and several shops, the witness added.

U.S. soldiers backed by helicopters immediately searched the surrounding buildings and orchards, detaining some suspected civilians before they pulled out of the town, the witnesses said.

Dhuluiyah, some 100 km north of Baghdad, has been a hotbed of insurgency against the U.S. troops since the invasion in 2003.

Source: Xinhua