Three United States soldiers serving in Iraq have been killed within hours of each other.

A US military spokesman said a soldier died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on a convoy near the town of Samarra, north of the capital Baghdad, late on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day a female soldier was killed and at least two others seriously hurt by a roadside bomb near the entrance to a US base in Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit.

Another soldier died after being shot with a handgun as he patrolled the al-Mansur district of Baghdad.

The deaths bring to around 90 the number of American soldiers killed by hostile fire since President George W Bush declared an end to major combat operations on 1 May.

Riots

Baghdad city had been troubled by violent scenes as a demonstration by unemployed men turned into a riot on Wednesday.

A BBC correspondent who witnessed the riot in Baghdad says it shows that the situation in Baghdad remains extremely volatile, despite coalition claims that security is improving by the day.

Police fired in the air, as protesters threw rocks and set cars ablaze.

Up to 100 men gathered outside a police station, where they said they had been promised jobs after making payments to police officers.

One policeman told Reuters news agency that they opened fire only after demonstrators fired first, and there were unconfirmed reports that several people were wounded.

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