An American soldier has been killed in a grenade attack in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said Saturday.

The attack took place in the volatile province of Nineveh on Friday, when insurgents hurled grenades on a U.S. patrol, a military statement said without giving further details.

The latest death raises the number of U.S. soldiers killed in May to at least 21, making the month the deadliest for American forces in Iraq since September, when 25 soldiers killed.

The incident came nearly one month before the scheduled pullout of U.S. troops from the Iraqi cities and towns.

About 4,303 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the outbreak of Iraq war in March 2003, according to media count based on Pentagon figures.

Source:Xinhua