BAGHDAD, May 3 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. soldier died of wounds sustained when a roadside bomb explosion struck his vehicle in Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Saturday.

    The soldier was on "combat patrol" in eastern the capital when he was attacked at about 6:15 p.m. (1515 GMT) on Friday evening, a military statement said.

    Several areas in eastern Baghdad, including the sprawling Shiite slum of Sadr City, are strongholds for Mahdi Army militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who fight the U.S. and Iraqi security forces since late March.

    The latest deaths brought the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion to more than 4,065, according to media count based on Pentagon figures.