BAGHDAD - Five US soldiers were killed and seven wounded in an attack on their combat patrol in southern Baghdad, the US military said Friday.

A US soldier runs as another covers him during a patrol in Baquba June 26, 2007. [Reuters]

The complex attack Thursday began with a roadside bomb, the military said in a statement. Small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades followed shortly after the blast, it said.

All seven wounded soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital, and one has since returned to duty, the military said.

The victims' names were withheld pending family notification.

The deaths brought to 99 the number of US troops who have died in Iraq this month. Last month, at least 126 US military personnel died, making May the deadliest month for US forces in Iraq since November 2004.

At least 3,576 members of the US military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,936 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.