US soldier shot in Iraq

A US soldier was shot in the head and critically wounded while shopping in a Baghdad store yesterday, the latest target in a surge of attacks that analysts say could explode into open revolt.

The soldier, a specialist assigned to try to win over the civilian population, was shopping for digital video disks in the Kazimiyah neighbourhood in the northwest of Baghdad when he was shot in the back of the head, residents said.

The soldier was evacuated to a military hospital in Iraq and had undergone surgery.

Apart from the mounting toll from hit-and-run tactics, the US military is struggling to prevent sabotage of oil and power facilities and may now have to rethink troop movements with two missing soldiers feared abducted.