Washington - The US death toll in Iraq has reached 4,000 following a roadside bombing that killed four American soldiers as the unpopular war heads into its sixth year with no end in sight. The four US soldiers died Sunday during a patrol in southern Baghdad, one day after a bombing took the lives of three US troops in the northwestern part of the Iraqi capital.
The death toll reached the 4,000 milestone in the midst of a presidential campaign to replace Bush in November 4 elections. The conflict in Iraq, along with the faltering US economy, has dominated the campaign and fuelled calls to begin withdrawing the US presence.
Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama say they would quickly begin withdrawals if they take control of the White House in January while the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, has stuck with President George W Bush's policy of keeping soldiers there until the mission is complete.
Bush, marking the fifth anniversary of the conflict that began on March 20, 2003, warned that any premature withdrawals could undo the progress that has been made under the 2007 troop surge and allow Iraq to fall into chaos.
The weekend deaths of the American soldiers coincided with a series of attacks Sunday by militants in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, leaving more than 60 Iraqis dead.
