Five U.S. soldiers killed in Five U.S. soldiers killed: statement

  June 6 (Today's News NJ)- Five U.S. soldiers were killed in central Iraq on Monday, the U.S. military said in a statement.
The statement did not give further details about how or where exactly the five were killed.

"The names of the deceased and details of the incident are being withheld pending notification of next of kin," the statement said.

The death toll of U.S. soldiers, who have been killed in Iraq since the war broke out in 2003, rose to about 4,459, according to media count based on Pentagon figures.

In mid 2010, U.S. troops in Iraq had been reduced to below 50, 000 soldiers. Washington said that the remaining U.S. troops in Iraq are conducting support and training missions.

U.S. military forces are to pull out completely from Iraq by the end of 2011 according to the security pact named Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, signed late in 2008 between Baghdad and Washington.